Big Bad Wolf
by WhispersFromMyDreams
Summary: Story takes place years after the movie. Valerie's granddaughter is the only one of her siblings that know all about her grandparents's past. When she sneaks off on a full moon, she sees a Wolf. It isn't Peter. She touches the Wolf, it doesn't harm her. She's not afraid of Wolves. What happens when she gets too close to the truth? Read and Review.
1. Chapter 1

**Please REVIEW!**

* * *

When I was a little girl, Grandmother used to tell me stories about the Wolf. How it kills families, snatching children from their beds. Scarfing down full grown adults. Grandmother told me about how her sister, Lucie, being murdered by the Wolf. How one day, her friend, Roxanne, and her were celebrating the Wolf's death. That's when they were wrong. Father Solomon told them all that the Wolf was 'very much alive'. The people of Daggerhorn didn't believe him. That's when the Blood Moon came up. People celebrated for a few hours until the Wolf barged in and killed a few people. Grandmother ran as fast as she could with Roxanne. But the Wolf caught her. It spoke to her. Roxanne told Father Solomon that Grandmother was the witch. They imprisoned Grandmother in a cell, keeping her hostage until the next night came. And the Blood Moon rose. Grandfather and Henry helped her escape. She ran. Grandfather was held captive in a large, steel elephant. He escaped. Grandmother thought he was the Wolf.

Until she went to her grandmother's house in the forest. There he was, her father. He explained everything to her, starting from when he killed Lucie, to killing his own mother because she knew too much. "_You'll be stronger than me, Valerie. One bite. That's all._" Grandmother didn't want to. And that's when Grandfather came in. He fought for Grandmother, they killed Grandmother's father, stuffing rocks in his stomach and sending into the ocean.

But Grandfather was bitten. _A man bitten is a man cursed._

Grandmother had Aunt Victoria just a few months later. Grandmother has three children: Aunt Victoria; Penelope, my mother; and Uncle Stephan. Then, twenty-three years later, I came along. I live in Daggerhorn with Mother, where Grandmother used to live. Grandfather and Grandmother are still alive, but Grandfather's sick and Grandmother's doing everything in her will to help him. He's only fifty-eight years old.

Everyday, I come to Grandmother's house in the forest, where her grandmother lived, and help her try to heal Grandfather. When he looks at me, I can feel a sensation of wildness rush through me. I told him about that, he says it's my inner Wolf. That his Wolf blood courses through my veins like water in a river. When he told me that, I couldn't help but shiver.

When I turned fourteen, I snuck outside in the woods with my bow and arrow to hunt some rabbits. Grandmother had given me her beautiful red riding hood as a birthday gift. I had the hood of the red cloak up over my head because of stray bugs that would fall out of trees. Little did I know to look at the sky, it was night, and it was a full moon. Hell if I knew, I was too busy searching for rabbits. That's when I heard it.

Leaves rustling.

Heavy footsteps.

_It's just Monty, my neighbor's dog._ But those footsteps were too quick and heavy to be the footsteps of a German Shepherd.

Something growled behind me.

Shivers went up and down my spine as if I was being electrocuted. I froze and shut my eyes hard. _It's not a Wolf._ I looked up at the sky. _Shit!_ A full moon. I turned around slowly, readying my bow and arrow. I thought it was Grandfather, but the look in the Wolf's eye didn't show recognition. Every time Grandfather turned into the Wolf, he would walk to me and cuddle his giant head on my chest - - but now that I'm taller, I'd say my stomach. But this Wolf didn't do that. It looked at me with a vicious look in its eye. It had another look in its eye that I couldn't recognize until it growled. It showed fear. It's a new Wolf. I could see that it hated being this.

I felt the urge to walk up to it, and that's what I did. Very. Slowly. I slowly put my arrow in its sheath behind me and dropped my bow. I wondered if this Wolf's fur would feel the same as Grandfather's. At first, the Wolf growled and took a step back. I extended my hands, revealing that I had no weapons and that I wasn't going to harm it. I kept walking oh-so slowly to the Wolf. It backed away. I grabbed the hood of my cloak and put it down, revealing my face and pitch-black hair. It still didn't recognize me. So it wasn't Grandfather.

If this Wolf was going to harm me, it would've done so already. But it stood still as I came closer. I stopped infront of it, looking at its massive face. I shut my eyes and extended my arms. _It's going to bite off my hands. It's going to bite off my hands! What the Hell am I thinking!?_ I felt its fur, I felt the Wolf stiffen as I touched it.

"Alexandra?"

I opened my eyes. It was Mother's voice. The Wolf ran off, I could smell its deep, musky smell. _Do all Wolves smell like that?_ I felt a hand on my shoulder and I screamed. _What did I do . . _

"Dear God, Alexandra. _Why_ are you out here? I told you to stay inside!" Mother exclaimed. "Look at the sky. It's a full moon. Do you know what that means?"

I nodded slowly. "Wolf night." My tone was expressionless and I blinked.

"Oh, no." She looked around, obviously sensing that I've seen the Wolf. "Where was it? Did it hurt you?" She lifted my arms and spun me around, checking if I was bleeding.

"No, Mother. It didn't hurt me," I said and picked up my bow from the ground. Mother and I walked back to our house. "The Wolf was the one that was afraid. It was a noob Wolf."

"A _noob_? Those are even more dangerous."

We entered the house and I put my weapons by the fire place. "I touched it," I said quietly. "I touched the Wolf. Its head. Right in between its eyes."

"WHAT!?" she stood up. "Was it your grandfather?"

I shook my head. "No. I didn't see it in his eyes. And besides, when I spot Grandfather in his - -" I look around, even though all the windows are closed and my brother, Damon, is asleep, and whisper, "Wolf form. . he gives me the signal that it's him by rubbing on my stomach with his head like how a cat does to your legs."

"Oh. My. God. Mother was right," my mother said in quiet gasp.

"What was Grandmother right about?" I asked.

She shook her head.

"_What_ was Grandmother right about?"

Mother looked at Damon and pulled me to the far corner in the back of the small house. "There's another Wolf in Daggerhorn."

* * *

**Please REVIEW and let me know how I'm doing!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Three years later**

I'm seventeen. 'Of marrying age,' as Mother likes to say. I look at her and notice her golden blonde hair with natural streaks of a dark brown color and try to understand _how_ I was a born with pitch-black hair. My father has dark brown hair, Damon has Mother's blonde, pin-straight locks while I have pitch-black waves. Mother says I get my waves from Grandmother, and my hair color from Poppa . I have Poppa 's skin tone and Grandmother's big, green eyes. Mother tells me that I'm an exact copy of what my grandparents's children should've looked like.

I put on a white knee-length dress and throw on my red riding hood. I run to the door and slipped on my black boots, running outside with a knife tucked into a leather strap around my right thigh. It's almost the end of Winter. Snow falls lightly, landing on the top of my head. I hop off the two steps that leads up to my house and take off towards the gates. The guards already know why I'm leaving. They open the gates and I take off.

It's been exactly three years since I've since the other Wolf. Some times, I sneak out of my house on a full moon and sit on my roof, watching for the Wolf. I sometimes see it wonder around where I spotted it. It looks for something. For somebody. For me. The Wolf sniffs the air and turns his head towards my house. I see its big, yellow eyes staring at me. I don't break eye contact. Because I know that it won't harm me. And that's what scares me the most. It blinks and looks at the ground when I won't come. The Wolf takes off when it sees that I won't move. It doesn't come near the village. I guess it's pretty smart about that, because things changed since the last Wolf was in Daggerhorn. The weapons and security are stronger and better. A Wolf's worst nightmare.

I get to Grandmother's and barge in. Grandmother's holding Poppa 's hand, she gave him a kiss on his forehead as he coughed. They looked at me and smiled.

"Alexandra," Grandmother said. "I'm so happy you're here. Thanks to your medicine that you brought, Peeter's feeling alot better."

I smiled at her. "Good." I walked to Poppa 's bed and got to my knees, looking at him. "You're going to be fine, Poppa . Before you know it, you'll be back on your feet as if none of this ever happened."

He grabbed my hand in his. "Thank you, Alexandra."

I smiled back at him and looked at his hand. "Poppa , I need to tell you something."

"What is it?"

Grandmother sat in a chair on the opposite side of the bed, eyeing me. "This might be a little late," I started. "but three years ago today, I snuck out of my house in the middle of the night. ." I watched their faces. ". . on a full moon." They were now interested. "And I saw a Wolf."

"What?" Poppa asked in a gasp. It sure wasn't him that I saw that night. "Did it hurt you? What did you do?"

"Don't worry," I assured. "It didn't hurt me. It looked. . . scared. And I touched the Wolf." I reached over and touched Poppa in between his eyes. "Right there."

He looked angry. "Do you _know_ how much of a risk that was, Alexandra? It could have _killed_ you!"

"But it _didn't_. That's what confuses me. I thought it was you, Poppa , but you didn't give my the signal."

"It sure wasn't me," he said and chuckled.

"There's another Wolf," Grandmother said. "And it's not harmful."

"Not harmful to _Alexandra_. We don't know if it's harmful to everybody else," Poppa adds.

"It won't go to Daggerhorn. Not even the slightest bit," I say.

"Then you're safe as long as you _don't_ sneak off in the middle of the night. Especially on a damn _full moon_, I mean _seriously_, Alexandra!"

I wince at Poppa and Grandmother softly grabs his arm. "She'll be fine. Our Alexandra is a strong girl. She knows alot about Wolves, she knows their weaknesses and how to kill one."

Poppa sighed and grabbed my hands. His hands were colossal compared to my small ones. "I'm being hard on you because I care about you too much, okay? If I say things . . . _mean_ things, tell me to stop. I just can't stand the thought of you being murdered by a Wolf."

"I know, Poppa. But you don't have to worry about me."

"Oh _yes_ I do. You're _Alexandra_. And _what_ does Alexandra do best?"

I raised my eyebrow as an answer.

"You're too adventurous, you like to do things _normal_ people don't like to do. Especially _girls._ You're a real handful, Alexandra. You used to climb ladders in the back of your house and poor Penelope was scared half to death every time she saw you doing that."

I laughed and nodded. "I still _am_ a handful, Poppa. Don't you forget that." I winked at him and looked at Grandmother. "I should've brought more medicine. I'm sorry. I was too excited to come here that I forgot about the medicine. I'll go get some more. Daggerhorn isn't far."

"No," Grandmother said in her soft voice. "It's fine."

"I want Poppa to feel better. If he gets worse because of me, I'll hate myself."

"Oh, Alexandra."

I looked at Grandmother's old roman numeral clock that hung beside Poppa's knife collection. "I'll be back in fifteen minutes." Before Grandmother or Poppa could stop me, I took off towards the door. I could hear Poppa saying, "That's my girl," in a cheery tone and he laughed like he just won the lottery.

I stopped running, my lungs couldn't take it. I leaned against a tree and slid all the way down, sitting on mushy snow. I was far from Grandmother's house, but also far from Daggerhorn.

"Damn rabbit!"

My head spun to my right. A rabbit came close to me and I picked it up. It curled up in my right arm and I softly scratched his head with my fingers. That's when he came in. He ran towards the rabbit in my arms and stopped to take a breath. "That right there," he said in short breaths. "is the trickiest thing to catch." He chuckles and I smile up at him. God, he was tall. "My name's Seth," he said, now breathing correctly. His eyes were big and hazel, standing out with his burgundy shirt. His hair was dark brown, almost black, and messy with waves. If you looked at us close enough, you'd say that we were related.

"That's an uncommon name, Seth," I say and look down at the rabbit, handing it to Seth. "I'm pretty sure this is yours." After I gave the rabbit to him, I said, "And I'm Alexandra.

He takes it and gets out a knife. I watch him. He slices off the rabbit's head in one clean slice. Its head drops to the ground. "Thanks," he says.

"Do you live in Daggerhorn?" I ask.

"Yeah. At the very back, though. So I'm sure you've never seen me. But I'm pretty sure I've seen you somewhere. Around the water well, right?"

"How come I haven't seen you if you went to the water well?"

"That's because I don't go to the water well. My father does that. I go out hunting." He holds up his dead rabbit. "I've caught atleast twenty of these. I'm sure this'll do for a few weeks."

I looked behind me, thinking of Poppa. "You know how to kill deer?"

"No. Do you?"

I nodded. "My father taught me."

"Impressive. But I have to see it to believe it."

"I know where the deer are. Maybe you can come and hunt with me?"

"To kill deer? Yeah. That'll be some amazing gumbo."

"You cook?"

He nodded.

I blinked and remembered Poppa. "Shit. I forgot that I have to go to Daggerhorn to get some medicine for my grandfather. He's sick."

"Want me to come with you? I have to go back anyway to give my father the rabbits."

"Sure."

I walked with Seth behind a tree, and there was a wheelbarrow filled with dead rabbits. "Well damn, did you kill the poor rabbits's entire family?"

Seth chuckled. "I think I did." He threw in his dead rabbit in the wheelbarrow and we headed towards Daggerhorn. The guards let us in and I stopped by my house while Seth went to his. Mother saw me come in.

"Alexandra, what are you doing?" Mother asked.

I rushed up the ladder and into my old wooden chest by that belonged to Grandmother's grandmother. I opened it up. "Getting medicine for Poppa. He's getting better, Mother. He's actually getting _better_!"

Mother threw a basket next to me and I packed the medicine in there. I carefully went down the ladder that led to my bed, trying not to tilt my basket over and accidentally drop the medicine. "I'll be back in a few hours, Mother!" I called as I exited the house and went towards the gate. The guards let me out and I looked around for Seth.

"Alexaaandra!"

Seth. I shook my head and headed towards from where I heard his voice. "Seth, I need to get to my Grandmother's." Just then, a hand captured me while another one held a sword at my throat.

"Boo," he whispered and let me go.

I spun around and pointed my index finger at him. "I could've taken you."

"Could've, should've, would've."

"When should we meet to hunt?" Seth asked as we walked on the trail that led to the forest.

"Tonight?"

"Deers don't come out at night."

"Do you see any now?" I asked.

Seth clicked his tongue. "Good point."

"So . . tonight?"

"It depends. I gotta help my old man skin those rabbits."

"Oh, right. Well, I'm going out to hunt deer tonight. And if I catch two, I'll hide it behind that tree that you hid your rabbits at and take the other one home."

"Is that why your cloak's that color? Do you dip it in animal blood or something?" Seth asked sarcastically.

I gave him a wicked look. "My great-great grandmother gave this to my grandmother, and she gave it to me. And don't be so judgmental, I actually _like_ the color blood-red."

"That's odd."

We stopped when a wall of trees signaled that the trail ended. "Now what?" Seth asked.

"I have to go to Grandmother's. Want to come?"

"Actually, I better get to skinning those rabbits. I'll be screwed if I'm not done skinning them by tonight."

We said our goodbyes and I headed towards Grandmother's. This time, running. I felt the cold wind hit my face and I saw her Grandmother's house. I stepped in and gave Poppa the medicine. "That took you longer than fifteen minutes, Alexandra," Grandmother said.

"Oh, it was nothing," I panted. "I was just - - with a friend."

"A _friend?_"

"I just met him, though. Nothing special."

They didn't ask anymore questions, they just let me make tea while they talked among each other, talking about back when Poppa was bitten on a Blood Moon. I stayed at Grandmother's for six hours and I went home when Grandmother and Poppa fell asleep. I went home and took a nap myself. I would need it for tonight. For hunting.

_Shit!_ How could I have forgotten?! Tonight's a full moon.

**Night**

I had gathered my bow and arrow and snuck out of Daggerhorn when the guards were asleep. I left the gate open just a crack so I would be able to get in later. I headed out towards the forest, but not _in_ it, because that's where the Wolf dwells. I was as quiet as a mouse, only making noises when I had to yawn.

The snow crunched beneath my feet. _Crunch. Crunch._

I spotted the base of a wide tree cut off, the stump of the big trunk was the only evidence of there being a tree there. On the stump were skinned rabbits. _Seth._

I heard heavy footsteps and I readied my bow and arrow. That scene too familiar from three years ago. A deep, musky smell invaded my nostrils. It was there. The Wolf was with me. Just a few feet away from where I was at. My instincts told me to run and to not look back. But that's the complete opposite of what I did. I turned around slowly. The Wolf growled at my weapons and I put them down. It smelled the air, and then me. I balled up my fists as I became tense and stiff.

"Please, don't kill me," I whispered, my voice shaking.

The Wolf's ears twitched when I spoke. It walked around me. Slowly. In circles. I felt its tail brush up against my arm and that made me tense up even more. _Why wasn't I afraid of this thing three years ago?!_ Before I knew it, the Wolf was infront of me, staring me right in the eye. I didn't see that vicious look I saw in them three years ago. The Wolf looked innocent but wild. I unwillingly dropped my bow and arrow and started for the Wolf's mouth. I grabbed it with my hands and - at first - it backed away. I noticed that it was as tense and on-edge as I was.

"_Why_ don't you kill me?" I asked. "I'm food to you."

The Wolf shook his head at me. I smiled. "Nice communicating," I said. "I thought that when I'd see you again, you'd be more vicious and kill me." It shook its head again. "My grandpa- - I mean. . . people told me that Wolves can talk to humans. Can you do that?" It shook its head and I said, "Or is it just with the blood line?"

_What am I doing? Talking to the Wolf? What the Hell!?_ The Wolf looked up at the full moon and then looked me in the eyes. They turned red. The shade of red that blood is. It looked back up to the moon. _Blood Moon_. I blinked, turning to the skinned rabbits. I grabbed one and spun back around to the Wolf.

"I think I know who sent you these rabbits," I said, holding it out. The Wolf used its tongue to slide under the skinned rabbit that was in my hand and scooping it into its mouth.

I yawned again. My eye lids became heavy. But I managed to shake it off. The Wolf cocked its head at me. "It's nothing," I said. "Just a little tired." The Wolf walked behind me and scarfed down all the skinned rabbits. It licked its lips with its massive tongue and turned back around to me. It blinked and walked in a circle, stomping the ground, getting comfortable. It lied down on its stomach, curling up in a way animals do when their babies are resting on them. It looked at me with its big yellow eyes.

"You want me to sleep there?" I asked.

The Wolf put its head on its paws and closed its eyes. I took that as a yes. "You don't seem like you're going to hurt me. . " I muttered. At first, I hesitated, but I sat down, stretching myself on the Wolf's side. It curled up tighter around me, setting its giant head on my lap. My hands were frozen above his head, not knowing what to do. I slowly put my hands on its head, petting it behind its left ear. The Wolf wagged his tail. I laughed. "Aren't you the cutest thing?" It growled. "Geez, calm down. I was just teasing." In a matter of minutes, I heard the Wolf snoring lightly, barely audible. I felt its throat muscles tense up on my lap when it swallowed.

I looked up at the full moon. I thought back to when the Wolf told me about the Blood Moon. Was it closer than anybody expected? After the years, the people of Daggerhorn forgot what the Blood Moon meant. But I know it perfectly. _A man bitten is a man cursed_. Enough said with that.

I eventually closed my eyes and deep inside of me I knew that this Wolf that's sleeping on my lap was right. The Blood Moon was close.


	3. Chapter 3

**Next Day**

I've just bought a new dagger, one with a golden handle and a silver blade. Poppa says that it'll be good if I ever come across a vicious Wolf. The villagers in Daggerhorn have left their fear behind over twenty years ago. Instead of the villagers cowering in fear, they celebrate every other week for Winter. We dress up in our fanciest clothing. The women's tradition is to weave flowers together and use them as crowns, symbolizing our inner child. I always use it as a necklace, though, because I end up making it too big.

It's almost sun-down and I've dressed in a light blue dress with a white corset top. Mother made it tight around my chest so my breasts would show a bit more. "You have to look like a full grown woman, Alexandra."

"With my boobs all over the place?" I asked in disgust.

"Those boobs of yours will draw in some boys and before you know it, they'll be wrapped around her little fingers."

"That sounds. . . slutty."

"I know it does, honey. But you're seventeen. Show some of your woman-hood! It's not just sexy, it's flattering."

"Oh, God, Mother. Please stop talking. This conversation started from weird to down right sexual."

Mother laughed. "Okay, Alexandra. Let me do your hair. Please?"

She begs me because I won't let her anywhere near my hair. I groan and sit down infront of a mirror. "Go ahead."

Mother squeals with joy, taking the chair above my eyebrows and twists it back in a half up-do, leaving out my bangs. She takes a small chunk of my hair that's close to my ear and braids it, tying it off with a small elastic band. "See, that didn't take forever, did it?"

"Not at all," I said, checking myself out in the mirror. "I look - - -"

"Beautiful. Like Valerie."

"She did her hair like this?"

"Except for the small braid I did. But yes, she wore her hair like this."

I looked at my hair, then at my face, and at my eyes. All I could see in me was Grandmother. The sensations of being wild that coursed through me was from Poppa. It was like I was born from them, not Mother and Father.

"Valerie's coming, Alexandra. And so is Peter," Mother said.

"_Poppa's_ coming? But I thought he was bed written."

"Not anymore. The medicine you gave him really helped."

I couldn't but smile. "Poppa's finally out of bed!"

Mother ushered me outside, only to be greeted by my friends. Ariel, she had curly dark-brown hair and smoldering dark eyes, always wearing flattering clothes that show off he figure; Elizabeth, she had pin-straight light-brown hair that reached her waist, and big, dark eyes. That's odd, though, given that her father's Asian; and Victoria, she has wavy red hair, freckles that compliment her cheeks and big, blue eyes. I was always jealous of her.

"Come on!" Elizabeth urged, pulling me towards her and hooking her arm around mine. "Lets go to the Fields before they take the rest of the flowers."

"The Fields? There could be rabbits! Or deer! Let me get my - -" I started but cut off by Ariel.

"Not hunting today, Alexandra. Today's all about being a true _girl_." Ariel hooked her arm on mine while Victoria hooked hers around Elizabeth. We walked to the Fields that were near the forest that led to Grandmother's. I saw the stump where the skinned rabbits were. Where the Wolf and I slept. I was still longing to know who that Wolf was.

We walked right into a field of wild flowers, and that's when I saw him. Seth. He was wearing a white t-shirt and a dark green leather jacket ontop of it, with dark jeans and black boots. He was sneaking up on a deer. Elizabeth, Ariel and Victoria were talking and I shushed them, watching Seth. He readied his bow and arrow. "Come on. ." I murmured. _Sling._ He let go of the arrow and it fly over thirty feet, hitting the deer straight in its back. It started to run but didn't go too far. It ran into a tree and fell down. Seth got out his knife and embedded it in between the deer's eyes. It was dead.

"Oh, God," Elizabeth muttered.

"Well, damn," Ariel gasped.

"Where did he come from?" Victoria asked quietly.

"He lives in the back of Daggerhorn," I said.

"How do you know?" Ariel asked me.

"I ran into him yesterday. He was hunting a rabbit and I caught it."

"He's. . " Victoria examined him. "Drop-dead gorgeous."

I laughed and shook my head at her. Seth turned around and saw me. He waved and smiled at me. I waved back. "Ooooh," Elizabeth oohed. "Looks like Alexandra has a booyy-friend!"

"He's _not_ my boyfriend. I barely even know the guy," I said.

"Well if you won't take him, then _I_ will," Victoria said and started to walk towards Seth. I think he heard us talking, because he grabbed the deer's hind legs and dragged it back to Daggerhorn.

Elizabeth, Ariel, Victoria and I made crowns out of flowers. For them, it took minutes. But for me, it seemed like hours. I kept making them too big. I'm sure I've made atleast six. "Here," Ariel said kindly. "Let me." She weaved the flower stems together with her delicate, small fingers. Her nails were painted a beautiful light green color, her skin was flawless and was perfect. She looked like a goddess. In a matter of seconds, she was done with half of it. A minute later, she finished it. Ariel draped it on my head, it was a perfect fit. "You look like a doll," Ariel said and smiled at me. "Such a cute doll." She pinched my cheeks, I playfully slapped her hands away and patted my cheeks softly. "Ouch," I said.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. I spun around, knocking the flower crown off of my head. It was Seth. He laughed and picked it up, setting it back on my head. "Nice," he said.

"Thanks. Ariel made it," I said and pointed to my dark-haired friend.

Seth waved at her and the rest of my friends. They couldn't stop gawking at him. "Can I talk to you?" he asked and looked at my friends. "In private?"

I turned to them and back to Seth. "Sure."

He pulled me far from them, behind a few trees. "Have you noticed people staring at you?"

"What?" I asked. "They're not staring at me."

"I. . _heard_ something this morning. I didn't know whether it was a lie or the truth so I'm asking you. Were you out in the middle of the night last night?"

"Yes, I was. But I'm fine, nothing happened."

"Somebody was watching you. They saw you sleeping by the field."

I gulped.

" . . With the Wolf."

"I wasn't _sleeping_ with the Wolf. Not like that, Seth. I just fell asleep."

"For God's sake, Alexandra. Don't you know that Wolves are dangerous?" he yelled in a whisper.

"Yeah, I know. But - "

"But what?" he asked harshly.

"But - - I'm not afraid."

Seth eyed me curiously. "How can you not be afraid of a _Wolf_?"

"I'm just not afraid. At first, I was. But the Wolf didn't harm me. I thought it would kill me. But it didn't. The Wolf's kind, Seth."

"To you, it might be. But it _kills_, Alexandra. It tears people like you to pieces in one snap of its jaw."

"I know," I said.

"You can't go out of your house like that in the middle of the night. Did you _not _see the full moon?"

I shook my head. "No. I hunt at night so it's normal for me to go out that late. But I forgot to check the moon."

"Don't go back out there. I lost my mother to the Wolf. Do you know how bad that was? To watch her be killed by the Wolf?"

"No, I don't."

"So, please, do us _both_ a favor and don't go back out there. I hear the Blood Moon's coming again. You _can't_ go out in the middle of the night anymore. Not until the Blood Moon's gone."

I nodded "You're right. I don't know what got over me." I looked behind me and searched for anybody in sight. Nobody was there. My friends had gone back to Daggerhorn. I turned to Seth. "I'm going to tell you something and you _can't_ tell anybody."

"You have my word."

"Three years ago from yesterday, on my birthday, I went outside in the middle of the night. It was a full moon. I didn't know what was going on and I was face-to-face with the Wolf. I wasn't afraid. I - - _touched_ it." I reached over and touched Seth in between his eyes. "Right there."

Seth pinched the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb. "You're one weird girl, Alexandra. I thought kids were suppose to be afraid of that creature, not friendly with it."

"I was a curious kid back then. I've heard so many things about the Wolf that I'm not afraid of it."

Seth stepped closer to me. "Promise me that you won't step out of Daggerhorn at night when the Blood Moon's here."

I opened my mouth to say something but nothing came out.

"Promise me, Alex."

_He called me Alex. . _"I promise."

Seth nodded. "Good. Don't you break that."

"I won't."

"_Alexandra?_"

It was Poppa. I smiled hard and Seth looked at me weird. I spun around and ran towards my grandparents, wrapping my arms around them both. After we pulled away, Poppa looked down at me. "You look like Valerie," he said, touching my face. He looked at Grandmother. "I swear, Alexandra was suppose to me _our _child."

"You have my eyes," Grandmother said, skimming the back of her hand across my cheek. "God, you're beautiful."

I smiled at them and turned to Seth, he had his hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans. Poppa wore a black leather jacket, eyeing Seth. "Who's this?" Poppa asked.

"That's Seth. Remember? The guy I told you about?" I told him.

Seth walked up to them and extended his hand to shake theirs. "It's a pleasure," he said, shaking their hands.

"Are you new?" Grandmother asked.

"No, ma'm. I live in the back of Daggerhorn. Barely noticeable. But I've lived there my entire life," Seth answered.

"You seem like a good young man."

"He better be," Poppa said.

Seth chuckled and nodded. "Don't worry, sir. I am."

Poppa looked up at the sky. "Almost sun-down. The Wolf's coming."

"How do you know?" I asked.

"Blood Moon. I've been keeping track of the years. It'll be exactly thirteen years today. That means the Blood Moon's here."

Seth looked on-edge. "Better lock up everything and stay inside. You know what they say. A man bitten is a man cursed."

"Smart man," Poppa said. He looked at me. "Alexandra, lets go to your mother's. Valerie made your favorite gumbo."

I smiled at them and turned to Seth. "See you at the Winter Veil Festival?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

When I got home, Grandmother served me her gumbo and I ate it up like it was my last meal. "This is delicious, Grandmother," I complimented and she kissed the top of my head. I felt her breath on me and she stiffened, inching close to my ear and whispering, "You smell like the Wolf."

I swallowed hard and smelled my arm. Yep, strong and musky. I ran to Mother's room and grabbed her mint-scented perfume, spraying it all over atleast a dozen times. I smelled deliciously strong of mint. I lead my way to Grandmother and I sat by her. Damon walked out the door and I gulped. He didn't know much - - or should I say _anything_ - - about Wolves. If he gets hurt because of me, I'll go mad. Damon's nineteen and betrothed to my friend, Ariel.

_Tonight's the first Blood Moon. _Poppa would turn into a Wolf. And so will the mystery Wolf.

**Festival**

The sky was dark and Poppa was inside, getting ready to turn to the Wolf. He snuck out to the back of our cottage-like house and I followed him. He told me to stay away. I denied that. Our back yard was fenced on both sides, up to twenty feet of wooden fence. Nobody would see him turn. Poppa was hunched over, his body expanding and enlarging as his body was being covered with thick, pitch-black fur and his face turned into that of a Wolf's. I gawked at the magnificence of what was happening. I've seen Poppa as a Wolf, but I've never actually _seen_ him turn into one.

Poppa was now a full sized Wolf. He slowly walked towards me and rubbed his giant head on my chest. I laughed as his hairs tickled my neck and I grabbed his giant head lovingly. I scratched him behind his left ear and he looked up at the Blood Moon. He whimpered, wanting to howl. He walked around me in circles and licked my arm. I petted his massive head and that's when I heard it. A howl. Not Poppa's. The other Wolf. It was close. Poppa growled and nudged me back into the house with its maw. He pounced from my cottage, leaping over the twenty-foot fence. I went back inside the house from the back, seeing Grandmother sitting on the couch.

"Poppa's turned," I said.

She smiled up at me. "I heard the other Wolf howl. It's close."

I nodded. "I heard it, too."

Grandmother stood up and touched my face softly. "Go outside and have fun. Worry about Peter later."

"I'm not worried. Poppa's strong."

She smiled at me and ushered me out the door. I met Elizabeth at the bon fire, she was dancing with Victoria. Ariel came by and decided to partner up with me to dance. We danced a bit too sexually, copying what the men did with the women while they danced. We laughed and when people started to stare, that only gave us more reason to grind our hips on each other. Ariel started to grind her hips on mine and then she slide her body down against me, then came back up. I saw Elizabeth and Victoria getting too sucked into the dance. I turned around an sexually slid down on her breasts, her stomach, all the way down and came back up.

"Ooh," Victoria teased. "Are you gonna use those moves of yours with Seth?"

We laughed and I shook my head. _Where was Seth?_ That's when I spotted him, he was eyeing me with a wicked smirk on his face. I knew he was laughing at me in the inside. I could see it in his eyes. I waved at him and laughed. A crowd of people rushed infront of Seth and when the crowd was gone, so was he.

Minutes later, my friends and I switched partners so I was dancing with Victoria. Boy, was she a dancer. She insisted on grinding her hips on me for the boys, and it worked. The men were staring at her. Victoria spun me around so my rear end was on her crotch. "Now it's your turn," she whispered in my ear. "Make them go crazy." I laughed and Victoria put her hands on my waist, pulling me closer. I gulped. I slowly reached behind me for her neck and I started to grind on her harder than she did on me. The four of us put on sexual expressions that made the young men go insane. They whistled at us and we couldn't help but laugh. _Wow, we're idiots._ I turned around and Victoria had the urge to grind her breasts on mine, pulling me closer to her. Elizabeth and Ariel were just as sexual. I swear, we're all straight.

Something howled.

The Wolf.

Two howls.

But the music kept on going, people kept dancing, drinking, having a great time. Right up until we heard growling in Daggerhorn. _Oh shit!_ The Wolf got in. We heard the screaming of men as they were killed and thrashed around. My friends and I ran, people were blocking our way to our homes, and we couldn't find our families. I knew a place where the Wolf couldn't find us. Where the horses are. Nobody knows about the place except for me. It's behind the sanctuary, through a labyrinth of alley ways. I told them to follow me, and I just ran. When I got to the entrance of the sanctuary, I spun around. They weren't behind me. I saw them. Cornered by the Wolf. It wasn't Poppa.

I ran as fast as I could and the Wolf killed a guard that tried to stop it. It opened its jaw to chomp at Victoria. I screamed, "NO!" and I was right behind the Wolf. It spun around and I was face-to-face with the creature. Everything. Was. Quiet. The people of Daggerhorn didn't say a word. They watched me. It searched my face and I searched the Wolf's. I let out heavy breaths because of me running and I grabbed the Wolf's giant maw. It took a step back and I saw Victoria run to her family. The Wolf growled and pounced to get her. I ran towards Victoria and pushed her behind me.

The Wolf looked at me with its big, beautiful yellow eyes. I grabbed its maw again and shook my head breathlessly. "Don't," I said. The Wolf growled. I swallowed hard and placed my palm in between its eyes, under its massive forehead. I breathed through my mouth, the strong, musky smell invaded my nostrils and made me dizzy. The Wolf closed its eyes as I scratched softly in between them. It sat down. The people gasped. I took my hand away slowly and the Wolf opened its eyes again, searching my face.

It brought its head close to me, I stiffened, balling my hands into fists at my side, thinking that it was going to kill me. But it didn't. It just rubbed its giant head against the side of mine, making the people in Daggerhorn gasp again. The guards didn't move. I slowly wrapped my arms around its neck, the tips of my middle fingers touching. I pulled my arms away a bit, scratching its neck up and down the furry length of it. The Wolf's fur felt soft and plush, like that of a new born pup's.

The Wolf lifted its head up from mine and looked around, people stared at it with fear. It looked at the guards and raised its hind legs, standing up, then walking infront of me, and standing in a protective position. It let out a protective growl and the guards readied there weapons.

"No!" I unwillingly exclaimed, walking infront of the Wolf. I turned around, facing the great beast. "Go. Before they kill you," I whispered. The Wolf gave a last growl at the guards and rubbed its head on mine, knocking down the flower crown Ariel made for me. It still growled at the guards as it rubbed its head on mine. It walked around me in a circle and took off with a mighty leap off of a cottage and out of Daggerhorn.

I breathed heavily. The people of Daggerhorn eyed me with both fear and wonder. Grandmother rushed to me and ushered me into our cottage. She locked the front door. "What just happened?" Grandmother asked.

I eyed her in wonder. "The Wolf. . you saw it, too, didn't you?"

"I saw everything. "

"They'll call me a witch, grandmother. Oh, God. No."

"They'll ask you questions, that's all they'll do."

"What should I do?" I asked and sat on the couch, clutching my red riding hood close to my chest.

"The Wolf is somebody that cares deeply for you. A Wolf is never soft and protecting like how that one was. Do you know who it could have been?"

"No, Grandmother. That's what confuses me. I don't know who it is."

"Not even I could control Peter like that when he was a Wolf," she said.

"So, what do you think is going on?"

"Your kind soul and the Wolf blood coursing through your veins makes it easier for you to communicate with Wolves. That Wolf knows you're no harm to it."

"It was going to kill Victoria."

"Yes, I saw," Grandmother added. "And you stopped it."

"If it was somebody else, would it have killed me _and_ Victoria?" I asked.

"Yeah, it would have. Thank God you're alright."

"Why did it attack Daggerhorn?"

"Maybe it needs more food. You know what Wolves do when they're hungry and don't find any good food sources."

"It kills whatever it can," I muttered.

Grandmother served me another bowl of her gumbo and ripped a piece of bread for me from a big loaf. "Now, eat up. I remember what my grandmother used to tell me. All sorrow - -"

"Is less with bread," I finished.

Grandmother kissed my head and let my parents in, along with Damon. They hugged me and Father looked me in the eye. "That did the Wolf want with you?"

I shrugged. "I don't know."

Mother hugged me tight. "Oh, God. Bless the Lord! You had me scared out of my mind, Alexandra! My baby. ." she passed a hand through my hair and kissed my head all over. I pushed her away.

"I'm fine," I said. "Really. You saw everything, right?"

"Everything from my best friend being murdered to you petting the Wolf," Father said.

"I'm not even sure what happened, Father. And _I'm_ the one that petted the Wolf."

"I swear, if that Wolf hurt you, I would've -"

"It didn't hurt me. It did the very opposite. Did you see the guards? They were going to shoot me. And the Wolf protected me."

Father sat next to me and grabbed my hands. "Alexandra. Tell me, are you - - in a relationship with anybody? And do they have a little secret that I should know about?"

"What?" I asked. "No, Father. I'm not in a relationship."

"By the way you were acting with the Wolf, it seemed like you knew it pretty well."

"It's because I've seen it before. Not in its human form. As a Wolf. Twice."

"When?"

"Three years ago on my birthday and again yesterday."

Father let out a breath and Damon grabbed my shoulder. "Alexandra. I think you have a secret lover. And its the Wolf."

"Oh, please," I said, brushing his hand away. "I don't even know who the Wolf is."

"Well, it knows you perfectly," Grandmother says in a matter-of-fact tone.

Hours passed and Daggerhorn was silent. Everybody was asleep and on-edge. I waited until I heard my father's deep snores and I sneaked out the back door, into my back yard. I grabbed my knives and stabbed at the wood trunks that made up the fence in the back. I climbed it like Spiderman and leaped to the other side, landing perfectly on my feet. I shoved the knives in their leather straps on my thigh and slid on my red hood over my head. Once again, those pesky bugs.

I heard a howl.

It's close. I could smell its musky scent. Or was that just me?

Nope. It wasn't me. It was the Wolf, alright. It came out from the shadows and I could see its yellow eyes glowing. I looked at Daggerhorn. I was too close. Somebody could spot me. I gestured the Wolf to come with me. And it did. It came towards me and lied down on its belly, staring at me. It wiggled its back.

"You want me to get on?" I asked.

The Wolf nodded. I hopped on the Wolf's back and it got up. I leaned over, gripping the Wolf's neck for support. It started to walk and I leaned side to side with every step it took. I knew it wasn't Poppa. The Wolf led me to the field. The red light that the Blood Moon created made the field of wild flowers look amazing.

I was too busy looking at the moon and flowers that I didn't notice that I lost my balance and fell to my right, landing on the ground. The Wolf spun around and nudged me up with its maw. "I'm okay," I said. The Wolf sat down with a heavy _thump_ and it raised its ears, making me laugh. It looked like a lost puppy begging for food. I stood up and I reached for its maw. The Wolf closed its eyes and whimpered.

"You don't like being a Wolf, huh?" I asked, scratching under its maw. It shook its head. "Six more days and you won't have to be a Wolf until next month." I gently pulled the Wolf's head down, its nose was touching my stomach. I hesitated and kissed its forehead then touched its leather-like ears. Its ears twitched when I touched them and that's when I saw it. Poppa. As a Wolf. He was behind a few trees, staring at me with his big yellow eyes. I smiled at him and he walked towards me. He was pretty far away, but the Wolf that was next to me heard Poppa's footsteps. It turned around, growling protectively.

"Shh," I whispered. "It's okay. I know him. He's on our side."

The Wolf's growling stopped and it sat down behind me. Poppa rubbed his head on my stomach and I kissed his maw. He sat infront of me, eyeing the other Wolf. "You know him?" I asked Poppa. He shook his massive. I turned to the other Wolf. "Who are you?" I asked and it rubbed its head on my neck as an answer. I laughed because of the fur that tickled me.

"I'm serious. I want to know who you are," I said. Poppa licked my arm and ran to the fence that blocked our cottage from the outside. He jumped the fence and I knew that he was back to normal. I felt the heat of the sun. The Wolf turned around and I got on its back. It took off running fast. I gripped its neck as it ran and it jumped over the fence to my cottage. I got off and the Wolf looked at me one last time before it leaped back over the fence and away from me.


	4. Chapter 4

**I will try to upload ONE chapter every day! Thanks to all who have been reading "Big Bad Wolf"! **

**~*~*~Review and tell me what you think will happen next!~*~*~**

* * *

**Next Day**

It was mid-afternoon, the people from Daggerhorn were still going to celebrate the Winter Veil. But Victoria was bawling. She was crying on her front porch, and I ran to her. She stood up and hugged me. Victoria cried on my shoulder and I felt her dig her nails into my back. "It killed him," she said through tears. "The Wolf killed my father." I gulped and pulled her away slowly.

"I'm so sorry, Victoria. Dear God, I'm so sorry."

"I watched you . ." she said. ". . I watched you pet the Wolf. Well, everybody did. That was the most. . . scariest and beautiful thing I've ever seen, Alexandra. Do you know him? The Wolf?"

I shook my head. "No, I don't."

"But you two looked like you knew each other."

I chuckled and hugged her again, trying to change the subject. "He's in a better place, Victoria. Your father's watching you from above. So be a good girl."

"Ofcourse I will."

"Good."

"I'm . . . I'm going to kill the Wolf."

My stomach dropped. I pulled her away. "_No!_ It'll kill you, Victoria. It's stronger than you and you know it."

"It killed my father. So I'm going to kill it."

Victoria looked behind me and I turned around. Seth. He was holding a lit candle. "I'm paying my respects."

"You didn't even know him," Victoria said, wiping away her tears.

"I know I didn't. But I hate seeing somebody die."

"The Wolf did more than kill one person. It killed over four people."

"Yeah, I heard."

Victoria examined him. "Where were you last night?"

"Skinning the deer I caught."

I looked from Victoria to Seth. He was wearing a black shirt with a burgundy jacket ontop of it. It showed off his eyes perfectly. His dark hair was wind-blown, making him look sexy. Victoria took the candle from Seth and went into her cottage. I walked down the steps and looked at Seth. "Did you see me last night?" I asked.

He nodded. "Everything."

"I don't know what happened."

"I do."

I couldn't keep my eyes off of him. "You do?"

Seth looked around and got close to my ear. "Somebody in your family is a Wolf. That's why you're so calm around them."

I balled up my fists and lowered my head. _Shit, this isn't good._ Seth grabbed my chin and raised my head up. "I won't tell," he said. "I promise."

"Please don't. They'll hang me."

"Why would I rat you out like that?"

"Because Wolves don't harm me and people think I'm a witch."

"But you're not."

"I know," I said. "Don't freak out when I say this. . . but last night, I went to meet the Wolf."

"You _what?!_"

"SHHH!" I grabbed Seth's arm and rushed him into my cottage, locking the front door and pulling him to the very back of the room. I accidentally pushed him against the wall. "I said _don't. Freak. Out!_"

"Jesus Christ, Alexandra. You're _trying_ to give me the world's biggest heart attack, aren't you?" he asked.

"The Wolf isn't bad. He was just hungry. Too hungry."

"It could've eaten you."

"But it didn't," I said in a matter-of-fact tone. "And I want to know why."

Seth looked from my eyes to my lips repeatedly. I gulped, feeling my stomach clench.

The door was forced open. I let go of Seth and he recollected himself as my mother came in. She eyed us and smirked. "Was I interrupting something?"

"No," I said quickly.

She laughed. "I was just teasing. Geez, so protective."

Seth walked around me and headed for the door. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing. It's just that I need to go hunting."

"Can I join you?"

He nodded. "If you want to." I grabbed my bow and sheath of arrows, making my way out the door as I planted a kiss on Mother's cheek. She warned me to be careful, and I told her that the sun was up, so there was nothing for her to worry about. Seth and I exited Daggerhorn, holding our weapons and we got to the fields.

"We should come here at night," I suggested. "What do you think?" I readied my bow and arrow.

"On a Blood Moon? You _must_ be kidding, right?"

"Not at all."

"The Wolf might protect you but it doesn't know me. It'll slaughter me."

I shook my head and saw him reach for a sword behind his back in a large sheath. "It was going to kill Victoria," I said. "I got infront of her and the Wolf didn't even come any where near her."

Seth chuckled. "No, thanks. I'll be okay as long as I stay in my cottage when there's a Blood Moon."

I heard something rustle in one corner of the fields. I readied my bow and arrow and shot it, aiming for where I heard the rustling. I heard the piercing noise of my arrow and Seth and I ran to where I'd shot it. It was a baby dear. I'd shot it right in its left eye. "Oh, God," I muttered. "I didn't mean to kill it. Not when it's just a baby."

"This one doesn't have alot of meat. It's not good. We can throw it in the garbage pile," Seth added.

"Can I keep it?" I asked.

"Why?"

"For the Wolf."

"Christ, Alex, why are you gonna give it to the Wolf?"

"The poor thing's starving out here. It has practically eaten all the living animals. That's why we don't see any. And that's why it came into Daggerhorn. It was hungry."

"You thought about that all by yourself?" Seth asked me, retrieving my arrow from the deer's eye.

"My mother thought about it with me. We sort of came up with all that."

He handed me my arrow and looked at me. "Who's the Wolf in your family?"

"I can't say."

"Alexandra, I promise you I will never tell. How about this, you tell me, and I'll answer any questions you have to ask. I'll say nothing but the truth. And I promise you I will never spill your secrets. It's just that it's been bothering me since I found out back there in your cottage."

I sighed. "If you tell, I will slaughter you," I warned. "And _that's_ a promise."

"Geez, protective much?"

"It's my grandfather. He's a Wolf. And so is my aunt. But she lives in another village with her family."

"Anybody else?"

"My mother was bitten, but she doesn't turn for some reason."

"Wolf blood already courses through your veins," Seth said in disbelief.

"Yes, but I'm _not_ a Wolf."

"I know, I saw you dancing with your friends."

I laughed a bit. "I _swear_ we're all straight!"

Seth laughed, too. "That dance. . it was very . . "

"Sexual?" I say with a laugh. "I know. It's Victoria's way of grabbing guys's attention."

"It sure as Hell caught mine."

I looked at him with a smirk on my face and he laughed. "Mission accomplished," I sarcastically added.

"Are you going to the Winter Veil Festival again?"

"Yeah. You?"

Seth opened his mouth to answer but I stopped him.

"_No_ more skinning!" I said.

Seth smiled. "Okay, okay. I'll go."

"And just to be nice, I'll dance with you."

"That kind of dancing will equal a baby nine months later," he said.

We laughed. "Not unless I stop you."

"You are such a tease, Alex."

I look at him when he calls me that. Alex.

"What?" he asks. "You don't like that name?"

"I do, it's just that nobody's ever called me Alex."

"Well, I'm calling you Alex, whether you like it or not."

I shrugged. "Fine with me." I lifted up my arms to ready my bow and arrow again. And I could smell the deep, musky scent on my arms. I sighed. "I - -"

Seth looked at me weird when I wouldn't respond. "What?"

"I need to know who the Wolf is."

"Why?"

"It's been in my head since day one, since three years ago. And _now_ it shows up again. I'm freaking out, Seth. I don't know what to do. I'm going to be kicked - - no, _thrown_ out of Daggerhorn because of what happened last night. The Wolf's been in my head and I can't shake it."

Seth looked me in the eyes. "You'll be fine. Just _stay_ away from it and it'll stay out of your way."

"I've been thinking about him . . _it_. . for the last _three_ years, Seth. That's a pretty long time. I've been away from it that long and I'm _still_ thinking about it. It's like. . . I _know_ who it is, somehow, but at the same time I _don't._" I felt my voice shake.

"I can see how stressed you are."

I sighed. "Yeah, I am." I pulled my long sleeve down, covering my entire hand, and raised it to Seth's nose. He smelled it. He didn't wince.

"Smells like - -"

"The Wolf. I have its scent all over me."

"Look at me," he said. I did. "I'll take you to a place where it'll take your mind off of the Wolf."

"Really? Where?"

"Come with me." Seth began to walk but I didn't. He turned around on his third step and raised an eyebrow at me. "Are you going to stand there or are you going to join me?" He extended a hand with a kind smile. "Do you trust me?"

"Um - -"

"Do you trust me?" he repeated.

I looked at his hand and sighed. "Yeah," I said and grabbed his hand. "I trust you."

Seth pulled me towards him and whispered, "Run." He took off running before I could even take a breath and I joined him, running to catch up to him and holding my weapons tight so they wouldn't fall. He led me to the forest where Grandmother and Poppa live. We ran passed their house. Passed a lake I didn't even know existed their. Then, Seth ran inside a cave. I stopped. I wasn't going in there.

"Come on," Seth urged. "It's completely safe. I come here everyday."

"Are you sure its safe?" I asked.

"If it wasn't, would I still be alive?"

"Good point." I stepped into the cave and walked by his side. I tripped over a rock. Seth caught me before I hit the ground.

"Forgot to tell you to watch for the rocks," he added.

"Yeah. You're just a little late on that. Damn rock! I stubbed my toe."

Seth laughed and scooped me up in his arms effortlessly, as if I weighed as much as a feather. "I'll carry you until we reach the other side," Seth assured. "I know this cave like the back of my - -" he fell. I went down with him. I somehow landed ontop of Seth. "- - hand."

I laughed. "Are you sure you're not blind?"

Seth laughed with me and got to his feet, scooping me back up in his arms. "If you fall," I warned. "I'm going to laugh at you and not help you up."

He laughed again and looked up. God, it was dark. Small holes in the the cave's ceiling made it possible for Seth to find his way out without tripping again. We were out of the cave and going up a hill. He wouldn't put me down.

"I can walk, you know," I said.

"This is the most exercise I've done in a while. Don't ruin it," he added with a smirk.

"Don't try to enjoy yourself too much."

"Hmmm, I'll think about it."

I looked at him and chuckled, then noticed that I had my arm wrapped around his neck, and that I was stroking the side of it with my fingers. I felt his curly hair. So soft. . . like that of a new born pup's. _The Wolf_. I shook my head. He can't be it. . . he doesn't even smell like the Wolf.

Rays of the sun hit me in the eyes hard and I buried my face in the crook of his neck, right under his jaw. I felt the vibrations in his neck when he laughed. "Don't try to enjoy yourself too much," Seth teased.

"The sun's in my eye."

"_Sure_ it is."

Seth kept walking for what seemed like miles. I had taken a short nap on his chest. He shook his arms, waking me up. "Hmm. . .?" I groaned sleepily.

"We're here," Seth assure and I looked up, squinting because of the sun light. There it was. A water fall. The mist of it was forming a rainbow that dove deep into the water that was below. The grass was pure green, growing in thick bushels. A few dandelions and wild flowers blotched the ground here and there. And I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

"Oh. My. God," I gasped. "This is. . . _amazing_."

I could tell that Seth was staring at me. He put me down and I smelled it. A deep musk. _It's just my arms and my red cloak. They smell like the Wolf._ I walked around and picked a few wild flowers, making sure that their stems were long enough. I sat down, the grass went high above my knees and Seth joined me. I twirled the stems of two flowers together and tied them gently, trying not to break them. Seth watched me. "Looks like you're straining yourself," he teased.

"It's harder than it looks."

"I saw Ariel making you one. It looked easy."

"You watched Ariel?" I asked. I noticed my tone full of jealousy.

"Actually, I was watching you."

I chuckled. "I got a stalker."

Seth laughed. "I was very observational. And you're such a mysterious girl, Alex. Everything about you made me ask more questions, even if know more than I can handle."

"Is that a compliment?" I asked.

"Would you rather be a boring, predictable girl?"

"Hell no."

He laughed at that one. "Good. Because you're not. And you better not be. Everybody likes you just the way you are."

"Oh please," I murmured. "'Everybody' thinks I'm a witch."

"I don't."

"That's because you know . . 'things'."

Seth looked at the water fall. "You know," he said. "You're the only person that's ever come up here with me. Actually, for the passed eight years I've coming here. This has been my sanctuary."

"Sanctuary?" I asked. "You were hiding?"

"Only a few times a day. My parents kept arguing. Constantly. I couldn't sleep at night."

I stopped weaving the flowers together and looked at him. "Are you happier?"

"Actually, I have. That's sad to say, though. Because my mom's dead."

"Yeah, I'm sorry I asked that."

"That's alright. Because you're the reason I'm happier."

I looked at him and smiled. "Oh, really?"

"_Yes,_ really. You're so fun to be around. Every time I talk to you its always a different subject at a different place doing different things. Life is never boring with you in it."

"And I've really enjoyed talking to you, Seth. I family have somebody to talk to and hunt with besides my brother or my friends. They're _dreadfully_ boring."

Seth chuckled and I heard rustling in trees up ahead. I tensed up. Seth noticed. "Don't worry. It's _not_ the Wolf. The sun is still out."

"I know," I gulped. "I've been on-edge for last few days."

"You know, if you ever need somewhere else to go, you can come to my place. There's plenty of room for you."

"My parents would kill me if I slept in the same house with another guy. You know, parental superstitions."

"Aw, yes. So, a girl decides to sleep at a boy's house and _automatically_ that means that they're having sex."

"_Exactly_! Finally! _Some_body that gets me!"_  
_

"But you know, I guess they're right."

"Oh, come on, don't get all parental on me," I said, crossing my arms.

"I mean, look at yourself. You're - - -," he added and I looked at him. He cleared his throat. "And look at me. I'm a _guy_, and anybody would like to have you all to themselves."

"What're you trying to say?" I asked, smiling like an idiot.

"Oh. . nothing."

I sat there, looking at the water fall, and tying flower stems together. I tied exactly twenty three flower stems together and I already knew that it was too big for my head. I stood up at walked over to a tree with an extending branch, putting my messed up flower crown on the branch. I looked up at the sky. When the Blood Moon went up, the Wolf would come. And it would come back to Daggerhorn for its food. _The baby deer._ I could give it the deer, but what if the Wolf doesn't find the deer meaty enough and - - comes after me?

"I'm still surprised," Seth blurted.

I spun around. "What do you mean?"

"About the Wolf coming to Daggerhorn, killing over four people, trying to kill Victoria and then . . when you were infront of it. . ."

"I know," I said. "I can't believe it either."

"You promised me you wouldn't come near it."

"What do you think I did?" I asked. "Do you think I called it to kill those people?"

"No, of course not."

"Then what is it?"

"I think - - the Wolf wants you. It _is_ the Blood Moon. And the last time a Wolf was in Daggerhorn, it wanted a girl. It killed people. And all it wanted was to take the girl."_  
_

_He's talking about Grandmother._ "How do you know?"

"My grandfather told me about it."

"What's his name?"

Seth looked at the ground. "Henry. He was a blacksmith. Poor old man died a few years ago. Some sort of heart attack."

"Oh. I'm so sorry."

"It's. . fine."

I grabbed his chin and lifted it up so he'd look at me. "Don't so glum."

"He was killed by a Wolf."

I gulped. "Oh, God."

"First my mother. Then it was my grandfather. That's why I'm trying to protect you, Alex. After my grandfather died, I stopped caring about everybody because I was afraid of them dying. But now is when I'm more afraid than ever. I'm starting to care about you, Alex. If you die. . ."

"I won't," I assured. "I know how to protect myself."

"But he's a Wolf."

"And I'm _Alexandra, _two completely different people."

"It's a _thing_, not a person."

"How can you say that?" I asked. "Of course it's a person."

"That kills and slaughters."

"We kill and slaughter. Does that make us Wolves?"

"Well, no. But - "

"Point taken," I said, smirking at him and turned around. "Alexandra, one. Seth, zero."

I heard him walk quickly towards me, before I had any time to react, he spun me around and carefully pushed me against the ground. Now, my back was to the plush grass and Seth was ontop of me.

"Alexandra, zero. Seth, one," he quietly said and I smiled at him. I put my hands on his chest to push him off and that's when I felt it. His heart. It was racing. "Don't enjoy yourself _too _much," Seth teased.

"Ha, ha," I faked and pushed him onto his back, now it was I that was ontop of him. "Alexandra, two. Seth one." He pushed me back on the ground, getting ontop of me again, and started to kiss my neck, inhaling my scent. I was surprised at first, and I grabbed his neck, pushing him away. "Wait. . what _just_ happened?"

"You were enjoying it. _That's _what happened."

I looked deep into his eyes and found that sense of recognition. "Do I. . _know_ you from some where?" I asked. "I mean, before I met you a few days ago."

Seth shrugged. "I don't know. But you _did_ look familiar when you handed me that rabbit."

"It feels like I know you from a long time ago."

He flipped over so he would lie down next to me on the grass. " I have no idea. I actually have the worst fucking memory."

I turned my head to him, a blade of grass was crushed under my ear and he turned his head towards me. I clenched my jaw as he looked me straight in my eyes with his big, beautiful ones. I turned my head towards the sky.

Seth grabbed my hand.

I turned my head to him again. "What are you doing?"

"I see how nervous you are," he said.

"What are you talking about? I'm not. . nervous."

Seth swung his arm around me, capturing me with his body. His face was so close to mine, I pushed the back of my head hard into the ground. I felt his breath on me. He smiled. "See?" he asked. "You're nervous."

I shook my head. "N-no."

Seth looked from my eyes to my lips, and scooped down, kissing my neck. I heard him inhaling my scent again. I lifted the back of my hand up to my nose. I smelled like mint. Seth kissed my neck hard and I unwillingly released a small moan. Seth chuckled silently and he raised his head, looking me in the eye. "You liked that, too."

"Okay, I'm not going to deny that," I said and laughed a bit.

"So, you wouldn't mind if - -" Seth started and slowly went for my lips. I tangled my fingers together on the back of his neck and pulled him onto me, our lips crashing into each others. I felt the warmth of Seth's warm body against me traveled through my skin and hit the core of my bones. Seth's hands traveled down the sides of my body. My breasts, my stomach, my thighs. He grabbed one of my legs and lifted it up so I would be hooked around his waist. Instead, I pushed him against the ground and swung my legs over him, my rear-end right above his crotch. Seth chuckled and sat himself up with his elbows.

"Enjoying yourself?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" I answered back with a question. "You're the one that started kissing my neck."

"I didn't know I'd take it this far."

I placed my hands on his chest for support and leaned down close to him. "Well it did." I inched close to his ear. "And you're going insane."

Seth grabbed my arms and flipped me over on my back so that he would be ontop of me again. He pinned my arms over my head and pinned my body with his. "You have no idea," he whispered. He kissed me again, then went down towards my neck, leaving a warm trail of his kisses. I felt like I was in complete bliss.

Until I felt a sharp pain in my right arm. I screamed. Seth got up and I heard something rustle behind a few trees. A deer. I looked at my arm. An arrow was shot at me. Seth grabbed my arm and then the arrow. I shook my head as I felt my nerves screech. "Don't," I said, my voice shaky with pain.

"You don't know what the arrow has on it. It could have dirt or - -" he stopped and shook his head. "Just. . . look away and take a deep breath."

"Oh, God. ." I looked away and shut my eyes tight, putting the side of my hand in my mouth to bite on.

"Three. Two - -"

He pulled the arrow out. I screamed and bit my thumb. Hard. Seth threw the arrow behind him and clutched at my wounded flesh tightly so it wouldn't bleed so much. "We gotta go somewhere near to fix that or you'll die of blood loss."

I nodded. "Yeah."

He scooped me up and carried me into the cave that we came from, hoping that he doesn't trip again. I gripped my right arm tight, feeling my warm blood seep from the gash and cover my fingers. It wasn't alot of blood, but enough to make me dizzy. I saw the light from the other side of the cave. Seth hurried out of it, taking his careful time in the inside, given that we can't actually see that well because of the pesky rocks.

"I thought you said we were the only ones in there," I said quietly, leaning my head on his chest, feeling the beat of his heart. _Ba dum. Ba dum._ I heard his heart beat quicken when I leaned against his chest._  
_

"I did, too. I thought I was the only one that knew about it."

"Why did that person shoot _me?_"

"I saw a deer, Alex," Seth assured. "I'm sure the person was aiming for the deer."

"Sure," I said. "I guess that's what happened."

I told him where to go, through the woods, into the dark part of it where the trees with giant, long thorns were. Where Grandmother lived. I told him I could walk, but Seth insisted that he'd carry me. It wasn't until when I forced myself off of him and ran up the stairs, clutching my bloody arm, that Grandmother opened the door.

"Peter smelled you coming," she said quickly and quietly, then looked at Seth that was still walking urgently up the stairs. "He smelled him, too." She saw my bloody arm. "Dear God. Get inside, Alexandra. Hurry." She urged me inside and pulled Seth in as well. Grandmother sat me down on her couch and hurried towards an old trunk under the dining room table. Poppa came in, holding his knife from when he killed animals outside to eat.

"Fuck!" Poppa exclaimed. "What the Hell happened?" He looked viciously at Seth. "_What_ did you do?"

"He did _nothing_, Poppa!" I assured. "Seth was just showing me around the forest and then some stray arrow shot me in the arm. The person that shot me was aiming for a deer. I saw it. The deer, I mean."

Poppa sighed and Grandmother came back with the first aid kit. She opened it up and got out medical thread, a needle, a gauze patch and medical tape. "Peter," Grandmother said to Poppa. "Get me Morphine." He got up and went to their bedroom. I heard him digging through boxes as Grandmother was busy cleansing the needle and thread in rubbing alcohol.

Seth grabbed my hand. I was shaking and I didn't know it. "Calm down," he said softly. "You'll be fine, just don't look at them while it's happening. Focus on me, Alex."

Grandmother looked at Seth and smiled, then looked down at the thread and needle. "Careful, young man," Grandmother said in a warning tone. "My granddaughter knows how to kick some serious ass. And if you hurt her, she'll . . . well, you know."

Seth laughed and patted my hands. "I wouldn't do that to her."

Poppa came back and gave me two pills of Morphine. I swallowed them and Poppa dabbed some liquid on his handkerchief, then patted it on my open flesh. I squealed when I felt the liquid sting at my nerves. "God damn it," I said through gritted teeth.

Then, my upper arm became numb. I felt my head become light and all of a sudden, I fell over on Seth. He turned me around, lying my head on his chest, I was still lying down on the couch. Grandmother warned me not to move, and I held my arm perfectly still, I looked up at Seth. He looked down at me. He stroked my cheek with his thumb and held my good hand in his free one. I closed my eyes and felt the rush of wildness course through my veins. I opened my eyes, feeling them sting. Seth looked down at me and that look in his eyes. . . it was as if I'd arranged a surprise party for him. He looked. . . taken aback. Why?

"Grandmother. ." I said quietly. "What's wrong? Why's Seth staring at me like that?"

She stopped sewing up my arm - - she was finished - - and her eyes widened. She grabbed a chunk of broken mirror from the coffee table and gave it to me. I looked into it.

My eyes were no longer green. They were bright yellow. The Wolf's color.

* * *

**~*~*~Review and tell me what you think will happen next!~*~*~**


	5. Chapter 5

**Festival; Night 2 of Blood Moon **

Grandmother fixed up my arm pretty well, she told me not to use my right arm too much, that the stitches might snap open. I kept my right arm completely still when Seth and I walked back to Daggerhorn. I remained quiet, still shaken up about what happen back in Grandmother's house. My eyes had turn bright yellow. The Wolf's color. But I'm _not_ a Wolf. I don't turn when there's a full moon. I'm related to one. That's it.

Seth and I were a few hours late into the Winter Veil Festival. Daggerhorn celebrated as if nothing had happened the night before. And that, to me, was complete and utter shit. Victoria's father had just been murdered by the Wolf the night before, along with four other men. And nobody gave a rat's ass.

Ariel found me, pulling me to her to dance. "Not now," I said. "I need to find my parents real quick. I'll be right back."

"Wait," Ariel said, stopping me.

"Yes?" I asked.

"It's Victoria. She isn't feeling good. She hasn't left the house since this morning. I'm worried about her."

"I'll stop by her house after I explain to my parents what happened." I pointed at my right arm that had a gauze patch on it. Ariel nodded and went to search for somebody. Elizabeth, I'm guessing.

I looked at Seth and saw him walking to the back of Daggerhorn. I ran to catch up to him. I grabbed his arm and spun him around.

"Where are you going?" I asked. "Aren't you going to dance?"

"Dancing isn't really my thing. And besides, my old man just called me."

"I better see you at the bon fire, Seth. I mean it," I said and smirked. "I'll save you a dance."

Seth chuckled and nodded. "I'll be there." He walked away and I went to my cottage, explained everything to my parents. I told them about Seth taking me into the woods and showing me a beautiful waterfall, and told them about the stray arrow that shot my right arm. I told them that Grandmother and Poppa helped stitch it up and stop the bleeding. They sighed in relief. Damon came up to me and handed me a dagger's sheath.

"What's this?" I asked.

"For your dagger. I sort of forgot to get you something. So I saved up and bought you this."

I thanked him and grabbed my dagger from the leather strap on my thigh, sliding the dagger in the sheath and put it in the strap. "Now I won't cut myself," I sarcastically said and hugged my brother. "Thanks, Damon."

"If that Wolf harms you, make sure to stab it in the head."

I nodded. "If it harms me."

"Be careful out there, kiddo."

I looked at my parents and then at my hands. "I better get outside to dance with my friends. I need to find Victoria. To see how she's doing."

Just then, the door was slammed open. It was Father Randolph, Daggerhorn's tough priest. He had shackles in his hands. "Alexandra Donti?" he asked.

I looked at my parents and stepped up. "That would be me."

Father Randolph walked towards me, turning me around and cuffing my hands behind my back. The shackles had a long, rusty chain for him to grab onto so I wouldn't run away.

"What're you doing?" Mother exclaimed, seeing the worried look on my face.

"Your daughter's been condemned to be sacrifice for the Wolf," Father Randolph said, expressionless.

"WHAT?!" my family and I shrieked at the same time, as if on cue.

"Sacrifice?" my father questioned. "Why? No, let her _go!_ She's just a kid."

I furrowed my eyebrows at my father for saying that. I hated being called a kid. Especially when I'm seventeen. 'Just a kid' my ass.

"The Wolf has his vicious eyes on your daughter," Randolph started. "We haven't had a Wolf attack Daggerhorn in over thirty years. I will _not_ let Daggerhorn fall back to those dark days."

"She's my _daughter!_" Mother exclaimed and grabbed my right arm hard. I screamed, feeling the stitches grind against my raw nerves. "She will _not_ be sacrificed to the Wolf!"

"My apologies, Penelope," Father Randolph said and tugged at my shackles to make sure they weren't going to come off. "But non of you have any say in this." Guards came from behind Father Randolph and held my parents back while Father Randolph dragged me away. He let the people of Daggerhorn celebrate, because he knew that tonight would be the last night that the Wolf would come into their village. But I thought otherwise. I looked up at the sky. The scarlet moon shone down on the village. The Wolf would be here soon.

Father Randolph pulled me to the church, not letting me step on the holy ground. He held me still and I saw my two friends, Ariel and Elizabeth, gasping when they saw me chained up. They ran towards me. The guards stopped them. I saw Seth, he was looking at me. I managed a weak smile and he started to walk towards me, but a tall, muscular man told him something and handed him some sort of necklace. A chain. I saw a golden wedding band attached to the chain. He shoved it in his pocket and walked towards me.

"She's our friend!" Elizabeth shrieked, running towards me but blocked by guards.

"Let her go! This is man slaughter, Father Randolph!" Ariel exclaimed and tried to get through.

"It's either her or the entire village," Father Randolph said calmly. "Now, run along unless you want to be Wolf food."

Ariel and Elizabeth looked at me. I managed a weak smile and told them to go, that I'll be fine. They said their goodbyes, their cheeks were stained with their tears. Seth stopped infront a few guards and looked at me. "Christ, Alex. What did you do?" he asked.

I chuckled weakly. "Nothing. I'm - -"

The bell rung. Once. Twice. It paused. It rang again.

Seth's eyes widened. "You're being sacrificed," Seth murmured.

I nodded. "Yeah. But the Wolf won't hurt me. It trusts me and I trust it."

"I don't know if I should. Trust the Wolf, I mean."

"Seth, go enjoy yourself at the Festival."

The guards pushed him, urging him to go. He looked up at the Blood Moon. "The Wolf's coming," Seth stated. He looked at me. "Please, be careful, Alex."

"I will," I said and nodded. He looked at the guards and turned around. I watched him walk away to the festival, turning a corner and disappearing from my sight.

I think I stood there and for an hour, until I heard noises from Victoria's cottage. "Did you hear that?" I asked.

"Hear what?" Father Randolph questioned.

I was the only one able to hear it? I looked at Victoria's cottage and saw a Wolf come out of there, breaking a massive hole in the front of the cottage and killing three people. Father Randolph and the guards went to holy ground. When I tried to squeeze in, the guards pushed me away, not letting me in. I turned around and saw the Wolf's eyes. Blood red. Like the scarlet moon above us. It wasn't the Wolf I knew. Nor was it Poppa. It looked at my direction and started to sprint fast towards me. I screamed and I stepped aback, only to be taken down by the evil Wolf. It was about to chomp at my face, but it was tackled off of me by something. When I looked, it was the good Wolf. _My _Wolf. The Wolf that would protect me. I saw its yellow eyes beaming with the urge to kill. The other Wolf that tried to kill me.

My Wolf bit the evil Wolf's front leg and it growled in pain. It got up and bit my Wolf's back. I covered my mouth and screamed. The red-eyed Wolf stared at me. It ran towards me and I ducked towards the ground, the Wolf pounced and fell right into the holy ground. It howled in pain and ran out of there, my yellow-eyed Wolf grabbed its neck and gave it a quick twist. The red-eyed Wolf gave a yelp and fell lifeless to the ground. The yellow-eyed Wolf looked at me, with its ears raised. I took a step forward and hesitated, and instead of me running towards the Wolf, it ran towards me and buried its massive head in my arms.

I heard gasping.

I turned around and the Wolf walked with me to where the red-eyed Wolf was lifelessly at. My heart dropped to my feet. "Oh, God," I gasped. Ariel and Elizabeth were at my side, taking their distance from my Wolf. They covered their mouths and cried, I looked at them and they ran towards me, embracing me in a three-way hug.

"How did this happen?" Elizabeth said, her body shaking.

"This isn't right," Ariel added, crying on my shoulder.

I looked at the Wolf with tears in my eyes. It looked straight at me and its ears went down. The guards came towards it and I looked at them, shaking my head. I looked back at the red-eyed Wolf's body, slowly returning to its human form. But I already knew it was. I could tell by the hair and the slender, burned arms. The dead Wolf that was lying on the snow, all burned and bleeding from the good Wolf's bites was a good friend of mine.

Victoria.

**Morning**

I couldn't sleep at my house. I rolled around in my bed for what seemed like an eternity, until I got up and put on a blue dress. _Whoops_, I thought to myself. The dress pressed my breasts together. No wonder it looked so new. Mother had bought it for me and I hadn't put it on.

I slipped on my red riding hood and flipped the red hood over my head. I slowly made my way out of the house, stopping when the floor boards creaked, but hurried when I heard Father snore. I exited my house and started to walk towards Seth's house. Nobody was on the streets, the sun was just coming up. I knocked on Seth's front door softly. I waited. No answer. Until somebody opened the door. It was that tall, muscular man that I saw give the chain necklace to Seth.

"Yes?" he asked, examining me up and down, taking his sweet time when he got to my chest. Then looked up at my face.

"Is Seth home?" I asked back.

"Seth's hunting. I think he said something about the fields."

"Okay, thank you."

I turned around headed to my house, grabbing a basket and filling it with food. Sweet bread, pastries and filled a few flasks with orange juice - - no, I couldn't find any other containers except for cups, but those would spill. I covered the goodies with the two flaps of the basket and headed out the door. I got to the gates. The guards were asleep. I slipped by the crack of the gates and ran towards the fields. I looked back, Daggerhorn was almost out of sight. The snow fell softly and slowly stopped when the sun came out from behind some mountains in the distance. I got off the trail that led to the forest and headed towards the fields. I stopped, spotting Seth. He was wearing a thin shirt. His dark, wavy hair was brushed and a few strands fell on his forehead. I could see Seth's silver chain with the golden wedding band attached to it.

I held my breath as I examined his tan, muscular body. He looked like a god on Earth. I walked towards him and he turned his head, hearing me come closer.

"What are you doing here?" Seth asked.

"I couldn't sleep, so I went to your house and some man told me you'd be hunting at the field." I held up my basket. "And I thought that you'd like something to eat."

Seth smiled and he opened up one flap, seeing the flasks. "What's this?"

"Orange juice. I couldn't find any other containers to put juice in so I used these."

He lifted up the other flap, seeing the pastries. "Those look delicious."

"Eat," I said. "Grab anything you want."

"You sure?"

"I _did_ pack this for you."

Seth sat down and I sat infront of him, putting my hood down. We ate, looking up at the sky, getting blinded by the sun. "You heard?" I asked.

"About Victoria?" he asked back. "Yeah. I did."

I sighed. "But _how_ could that have happened? It doesn't make any sense. I saw her the night before, dancing with me. And the Wolf came in and tried to kill her."

"Maybe she was turned when the celebrating was over."

"She . . tried to kill me."

Seth furrowed his eyebrows in anger. "I know, I saw everything."

"Why weren't you outside?" I asked.

"Parties aren't really my thing."

"I was saving a dance for you. You know, after I was released, I mean."

He smirked at me. "Maybe tonight."

We stopped eating and I put my flask down in my basket. Before I had a chance to look up, Seth pinned me to the ground, capturing me with his body. I laughed and put my hands on his chest to push him off. "Seth . ." I started.

"I was worried about you last night," he whispered. "I was about to kill the guards and take you away. Far, far away from them."

"Don't say that," I managed.

"I don't want to see you in that position ever again."

I felt his golden wedding band touch my chest. I pushed him away and fingered the wedding band. "What's this?" I asked.

Seth looked at me and then at the ring. "It was my mother's. My father was going to give it to me for my eighteenth birthday, but I wanted it sooner."

"Oh," I said, feeling like a completely ass hole. "I'm sorry. I was just - -"

Seth grabbed my chin softly and pulled me into him. I pushed him against the ground, pinning his arms over his head. "I win," I smirked and Seth lifted his head up, crashing his lips into mine. He pushed me to the ground, getting ontop of me. He kept on kissing me and I pushed him away, so he'd sit up. I curled my legs around his waist. "Wait," I said. "I couldn't stop thinking about something."

"What is it?"

"I - - didn't see you. When the Wolves were fighting."

"Oh, believe me. I was there. I saw everything."

I looked at him with a puzzled look in my eye. "Can we - - go back up to that place in the cave?"

He smirked. "Oooh, I think I like where this is going."

I laughed. "Not like that, Seth. I just. . want us to be alone."

Seth got up and I grabbed my basket. We squeezed through the tightly-packed trees until we got the trees that have giant thorns sticking out of them, near Grandmother's house. Seth grabbed my hand and led me through a labyrinth of thorny trees, making sure I didn't get caught in them. Soon enough, we were just half a mile away to the cave that Seth got me to yesterday. He led me up the rocky hill and into the cave, making sure that I didn't trip over those damn rocks again. There it was, the waterfall. The green grass. The tall trees. None of it had snow covering the ground. I walked around the perimeter, taking in that amazing view.

"I'll never get used to this," I said and turned to Seth, he had his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "What's wrong?"

"You looked as happy as my mother did when I showed her this place."

I shook my head with a slight chuckle. "Don't get all upset, Seth." I walked to him, dropping my basket down to the ground and grabbing his face in my hands. "I don't like to see you like this."

"And I didn't like that red-eyed Wolf trying to kill you. But I guess everybody wants you. Even those Wolves."

I chuckled. "But I don't want them."

"Then who do you want?"

"Hmm. . . . he's pretty tall, has _amazing_ hazel eyes, dark hair, tan skin, grandson of a blacksmith. I'm sure you know him," I said suspiciously.

Seth smiled, wanting to laugh. "Well, damn. I better find that son of a bitch." He grabbed my waist and pulled me close to him, kissing me again. I felt his tongue enter my mouth and he started to kiss my neck again. I swear, I probably have atleast ten hickies on there somewhere. His fingers slithered over my back, searching for the strings of my dress. That's when I remembered it. The Wolf. Victoria had bitten the good Wolf. "Wait," I said, pushing him away, even though I wanted more.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"You told me yesterday that I could ask you anything, and you'd say nothing but the truth."

"What about it?"

"I told you everything about me. You know what my grandfather is and _why_ he is what he is. I told absolutely everything. But - - I don't know much about you."

"Okay, ask me anything."

I gulped and grabbed the bottom of his shirt.

"What're you doing?" he asked.

"I just - - want to see something."

Seth shook his head. "No."

I cupped his face with one hand. "If it's you, I won't be scared."

He shook his head again and I inched closer to his face. "Let me see. Please," I begged. Seth tensed up and I took off his shirt. His chest, stomach, and arms were perfectly muscled, tan and warm to the touch. I could feel Seth shaking. I placed my palm over his chest, where his heart should be. It was racing unbelievably fast. "Calm down," I whispered and kissed him. Seth's lips started to quiver. He pushed me away gently.

"I didn't want you to find out," he said. I got off of him and went around him, to his back. There it was, the bite mark from when Victoria bit the Wolf. _Him. _I traced the rough teeth marks that had turned into a scab with my fingers. I could feel him shaking at my touch. I kissed the back of his neck, slowly leaving warm kisses on his back. I kissed the huge bite mark, then stood on my knees when I was finished, and hugged Seth's neck from behind him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kisses his head. I felt tear drops on my arms.

Seth was crying. I crawled around him and wrapped my legs around his front. I cupped his face, he leaned his head on the side of mine and kissed my shoulder, clutching at me hard. I felt him shake harder as he cried.

"How did you turn?" I asked quietly.

I felt Seth kiss my cheek. He pulled away from me, looking me in the eye. "When I was five, a Wolf attacked my house. My father wasn't home."

"But your mom was?" I asked.

He nodded. "She picked me up and we ran upstairs. The Wolf's eyes were red, like Victoria's when she was a Wolf. My mother hid me in a closet and the Wolf attacked her. I remember seeing sunlight come in and the Wolf bit me."

"On a Blood Moon . ." I said, putting two and two together.

"Every thirteen years, that damn thing comes."

I skimmed the side of his face with my hands and planted a small kiss on his lips. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because. . . I killed people. Victoria's family. Her dad. Her cousins."

". . To get revenge?"

Seth nodded. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be."

"I really didn't want you to know about me."

"Why?" I asked, passing my fingers through his soft, wavy hair.

"Because I thought that you'd hate me."

"My family's history with Wolves has been pretty messed up, Seth. And I think I'm more Wolf than human. I would never hate you."

"I thought that when you found out that I was the Wolf, you'd think about the people I killed."

"Sure, I'm not happy about that, but I'm happy to know that it wasn't you that I saw dead on the ground with a snapped neck."

"I'm sorry about Victoria, I really am."

"I know, Seth."

"When I saw her about to bite off your head, I turned into a Wolf and attacked her. If I was too slow, you would've been dead."

"But you weren't. You saved me." I thought back to three years ago. " - - You were that Wolf I saw three years ago, weren't you?"

Seth nodded. "That was me. I was still freaked out about being a Wolf. And then I saw you, you weren't scared. You hunted on a full moon, knowing the risks. I approached you, I saw the scared look in your eye. And then, you stopped being scared."

"I thought you were going to kill me," I added.

"Never in my life. No."

I pushed him gently on the ground, I was on top of him, and I lied my head down on his chest, hearing his heart. It was racing. "How come you freaked out when I told you all those things about the Wolf?" I asked.

"I couldn't pretend that it was nothing. Being with a Wolf is dangerous."

I looked at him. "Then I must already be dead." I smirked at him and kissed his chest, going up and carefully planting a kiss on his lips. "Can I watch you?"

"What?" he asked, confused of what I was saying.

"Can I watch you turn?"

Seth shook his head. "Why?"

"I saw my grandfather turn once. It was. . . amazing. He went from being a puny human to a massive beast."

"You really want to?"

I nodded.

"Tonight. Come here before the sun sets. I'll show you." Seth's hazel eyes turned bright yellow, the color they are when he's a Wolf. I smiled at him and crashed my lips on his.

"I better get back home. My mother will go ballistic if I'm not there."

Seth agreed and we stood up, brushing off the dirt on our clothes. I grabbed my basket and spun around, only to be kissed by the shirtless Seth. I laughed when I felt his fingers tickle my sides. "Seth," I said with a laugh.

"I just can't get enough of you," he whispered. Seth put on his shirt and scooped me up when I was halfway to the cave. He led me down the rocky hill, even though I told him to put me down. He walked through the thorn-infested trees and I saw Grandmother's house. I looked at it as Seth kept walking through the forest. Seth put me down when we got to the fields and we walked to Daggerhorn. The guards let us in, not remembering that they let us out, even though they didn't.

Father Randolph looked at me and walked away. I walked to my cottage and said my goodbyes to Seth as my mother pulled in for a hug. "They're sending Victoria's body out to sea," she said to me. "Your friends are going to say goodbye to her one last time. Do you want to go?"

"Of course I do, Mother," I said.

Mother helped me change into a gray dress with long sleeves. Once again, one of her lets-show-Alexandra's-woman-hood dress, my breasts were showing too much cleavage and I curled my red riding hood around my chest.

"No," Mother said, taking my red riding hood away from me. "Wear this." She went to her closet, folding my red riding hood into a neat square and putting it on her top shelf, then taking out a black riding hood. It matched my red one perfectly, except that the color was black, not red. I slipped it on, flipping the hood over my head and securely the strings near the neck of the cloak. Somebody knocked on my front door. I opened the door, only to see Ariel and Elizabeth. They were dressed in black. They were crying. I pulled them in for a group hug and I let them cry on me. And for the first time in forever, I cried, too.

Father Randolph was the one sending Victoria's body to the sea. He said a few things that he says every time somebody dies. We gathered in a circle around Victoria's topless coffin and prayed for her soul, where ever she is. Ariel, Elizabeth and I pushed her coffin in the open ocean. It floated with her burned corpse. I felt a lump in my throat, feeling warm tears stream my cheeks. I walked around my friends and wiped my tears off of my face, walking away from the depressing scene as fast as possible. There he was. Seth. Standing in the very back, beside the pile of hay stacks. He was leaning a shoulder against the piles of hay, his arms were crossed, his eyes locked on me. I gulped and held back tears, feeling that lump in my throat. I felt my bottom lip quiver. I couldn't move. Seth uncrossed his arms and walked towards me quickly. I gulped again, feeling my whole body shake.

He wrapped his arms around me and I clutched at his back. I could smell it on him. The strong musky scent. He must've been hiding it. I inhaled his scent. Him. I wanted to be wrapped in his arms forever. He gave me comfort when I needed it. Seth was my haven. I don't recall crying. . .but I was. I was bawling like a helpless child on Seth, he only held me tighter. I'm him. Poppa. I looked over Seth's shoulder and saw him. He was standing by Grandmother, holding her hand. They were staring at me. At Seth. Both of us. I looked away and buried my face in Seth's chest. He stroked my hair and kissed the top of my head.

Elizabeth and Ariel pulled me away from him, throwing themselves onto me. What I really wanted to do was push them away and hug Seth again. God, how much I wanted to. But I love Ariel and Elizabeth. I'm suffering from this as much as they are.

I saw Poppa and Grandmother inch closer, standing beside Seth, patting him on the back and telling him that he's a good kid. Ariel's mother grabbed her daughter's shoulders and Ariel turned around to face her, crying on her mother. I held Elizabeth, stroking her soft, pin-straight hair. Her mother came in and whispered something in Elizabeth's ear. Still crying, Elizabeth stood up straight, trying to stop, and walking away from the scene. I turned around and my grandparents looked at me with their big, beautiful eyes.

"I didn't want this to happen," I said in a shaky voice and they hugged me. Seth stood there, hands shoved in his pockets, his amazing hazel eyes peering at me. I looked at him from in between my grandparents's shoulders and gently pushed them away. I extended my arms to him. To Seth. He smiled, taking his hands out of his pockets and throwing them around me.

"I'm so sorry," Seth whispered into my ear. "I'm so, so sorry. Is there anything you want? Anything that would make you feel better?"

I smiled into his shoulder and lifted myself to his ear. "A ride on a certain Wolf's back when the Blood Moon rises."

Seth chuckled and I felt him nod. "Yeah, we just gotta wait until the moon comes up."

Seth, my grandparents and I walked back to Daggerhorn, heading for my cottage. I gripped Seth's arm for support, feeling my head become as light as feather. I still couldn't believe that Victoria was a Wolf. And that Seth killed her. I should be mad at him. At Seth. For doing that to Victoria. But somehow, I'm not. I don't feel anger. I felt. . . betrayal from Victoria and dishonesty from Seth. I told him everything, from the Wolf encounter I had when I was fourteen to my grandfather being a Wolf himself. He kept that from me. That Seth was the Wolf I saw three years ago, that _he_ was the Wolf that killed Victoria. Damn. Why can't life be normal in Daggerhorn?

* * *

**Please REVIEW!**

**I'd really like to know how I'm doing!**

**Please and Thank you!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks to all who have been reading "Big Bad Wolf"! **

**~*~*~Review and tell me what you think will happen next!~*~*~**

* * *

**Later That Day**

My friends think I'm at my house, grieving over Victoria. Even my parents that have gone out to the Winter Veil Festival. The sun was close to setting. I grabbed my bow and sheath of arrows and stuffed them under my bed, so in case my parents are wondering where I am, they'll see that my weapons are gone, and that I've gone out hunting. But I haven't.

I threw on my red riding hood and flipped the red hood over my head, making my way outside. I couldn't see my family or friends anywhere. Good. I couldn't see Seth outside either. Even better. That meant that Seth was at the cave. The guards didn't see me, I snuck out of Daggerhorn and ran towards the woods. My grandparents saw me and I told them that I forgot something near their house. They nodded at me and walked towards Daggerhorn. Before I knew it, I passed their house, my favorite place to be when I don't want to be home. That's when the bunched-up trees came in. I squeezed through them, avoiding the giant thorns that stuck out of them and saw the rocky hill that Seth and I climbed. The sky was turning orange and pink. I better hurry. The sun's about to set.

I walked the rocky hill on all fours, trying my best not to slip. Sure, I looked like an idiot climbing that thing, but it's better to be safe than sorry. When I got to the top, I gripped the soft grass and pulled myself off of the rocky hill. I ran towards the cave and went in without caution. I took giant steps, feeling for those damn rocks that would trip me. I saw the light of the other side of the cave. I heard the noise that the water fall made. I came out from the cave and inhaled that fresh scent of the forest. I looked up at the sky again. It was now a darker orange, the pink faded away into nothingness. The clouds were thin. I inhaled deeply and looked around.

I saw Seth, sitting on a rock, his face buried in his hands. I ran to Seth, sitting on my knees and pulling his hands away from his face, and smiled up at him. He was sleeping. "Wake up, sleeping beauty," I said and he rubbed his face with his hands.

"I thought you wouldn't make it," Seth added.

"Of course I would make it. The forest held me up a bit. But I'm here."

Seth looked up at the sky. It was getting darker. "When the Blood Moon rises, I need you to take as many steps away from me as possible."

"Why?"

"I don't want to hurt you when I turn. Sometimes I start shaking when I turn and I don't want to end up hurting you."

I nodded. "Okay."

Seth looked at the ground, shut his eyes, sighed, and took off his shirt. I clenched my jaw. _Shit_, I thought to myself. _He's such a god. _I held my breath and Seth looked at me. "What?" he asked._  
_

"Oh. . nothing."

The sun went down. His hands started to shake, I held his hands in mine. "You're going to be fine," I said quietly and looked at his white shirt on the ground, I picked it up and folded it into the smallest square I could possibly fold it to and tucked it in my dress.

Seth looked into my eyes. "I'm trying to fight it."

"What? Why?"

"I wan to be stronger than this. . . curse."

"My grandfather said it was a curse, too. But after a few years, he came to love being a Wolf. He said that you're ten times stronger than you ever would be and . . . I thought of being a Wolf one."

"No. You're not turning to a Wolf, Alex," Seth added.

"I'm already more Wolf than human."

"I don't want you to feel what I'm feeling. I really don't."

I looked up at the sky. The Blood Moon was revealing itself. I looked back at Seth. His eyes were bright yellow. I touched his face softly, and he started to breathe hard. He gently pushed me away. "Get away," he warned. "I don't want to hurt you."

For some reason, I didn't want to get away. I got to my feet, pulling him up with me. Seth clutched his stomach, the look on his face was as if he was in great pain. I grabbed his hands, feeling his fingernails grow and sharpen into claws. "Try and fight it," I whispered, cupping his face in my hands. I could feel his pulse race. Seth screamed and fell to the ground, clutching at his stomach. I kneel infront of him and in a blink of an eye, Seth was ontop of me. Why now?

"Get away," Seth warned. "I don't want you to see me like this."

I clutched the back of his neck and brought my lips to his, hoping that my kisses would distract him. I felt the silver chain that had the golden wedding band attached to it around his neck, I gripped it and slipped it off of his head and around my neck, I did that while we were kissing. I could feel Seth's fingers digging into my back. It hurt, but I held it in. I felt the cold golden wedding band in between my breasts. Seth placed his palms beside me and screamed in pain, his forehead was lying below my chest. I stroked his hair comfortingly. Seth looked at my face, I could see his bright yellow eyes turning into that of Wolf's, and his canine teeth were getting bigger. From my point of view, it was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Seth gulped, tears of agony in his eyes. I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't stand to see him like this.

I sat up, making Seth sit up, too, and I hugged his neck. "Turn," I said. "I don't want to see you in so much pain." I stroked his hair, loosening the grip on his neck so he could turn into a Wolf. Seth's breaths became staggered and out of rhythm. Then he let out a relaxed breath. And everything became quiet. I kept my eyes open as I saw his body getting bigger, feeling his neck extend and enlarge, being covered in soft fur. I stroked his neck as he turned into a Wolf, seeing his body change and enlarge into a Wolf. A beast.

Seth inhaled, I felt his neck tense up when he swallowed. I slowly let go of his neck and I backed away, wanting to see him. All of him. I could see his bright yellow eyes. Big and beautiful. I grabbed his maw and looked into his eyes. "I'm not afraid," I whispered. "You shouldn't be, either." Seth closed his eyes and rubbed his head on my neck, I could smell him. The strong musky scent. Before, I thought of that as a scent that I hated. But now, I can't get enough of it. I kissed his massive neck and Seth howled at the Blood Moon. I covered my ears, given that he howls loud.

Another Wolf howled.

Poppa.

Or atleast I hope it was.

Seth stuck his mouth in between my legs. "What are you doing?" I asked with a laugh. He raised his head quickly sending me on his back. I laughed and kissed the back of his giant head. Seth howled again. He got in a stance that meant that he was going to jump. And he did. He jumped right ontop of the cave, howled again, and took off running. He ran through the forest, and stopped right when we were behind Grandmother's house. Seth sniffed the air.

"What's wrong?" I asked him, clutching his pitch-black fur. Seth got in a protective position and growled. A Wolf came out from behind Grandmother's house. I patted Seth's head. "It's okay," I assured. "You and I both know who that is." His growling stopped and the other Wolf came towards us. It raised its head and licked my arm.

"Hey, Poppa," I said quietly. "Don't worry, I'll be in Daggerhorn soon."

_Good_, Poppa said. The voice he spoke in wasn't his. It was both human and animal, both man and woman.

"You can speak?" I asked. "How come you didn't - "

_Your mother is worried. So is Valerie. Go to Daggerhorn and tell them you're with me. It's a lie but I don't want you to get in trouble._

"Thanks, Poppa."

He walked around to face Seth. _And you, _he said, starting to growl. _If you hurt Alexandra, I will rip your head off. Make sure she's safe. Or you know what will happen._

I looked at Poppa. "Poppa, he _will_ protect me. If I didn't trust him, would I be on his back?"

_Good point,_ he said. _Howl if you have trouble._

Seth and I nodded. Poppa turned around and ran away. I patted Seth's head. "He was just kidding about ripping your head off," I said. "He just wants me to be safe."

He ran off, with me on his back, taking me somewhere. Anywhere. Away from Daggerhorn. He led me farther from my village, passed the cave he transformed in, passed snowy hills, miles and miles away from Daggerhorn. He stopped when he reached a field of wild flowers. Alot bigger than the field Daggerhorn has. My jaw dropped in awe. Seth walked across the field, stopping in the middle of it. I got off of him and he lied down on his belly, his ears perked up at me. I lied down and Seth curled up, I was a prisoner in his warm, furry body. His head was on my lap. He sniffed at my chest and I pulled out the golden wedding band that became warm in my breasts.

"I slipped this onto my neck just in case you broke it when you turned," I said and scratched his left ear. "I know it means alot to you."

Seth looked at me with his beautiful yellow eyes. He made them turn hazel. "Human eyes," I said. "Hazel." I stroked the side of his face. He licked my face. All of it. I laughed and wiped his saliva from my face. "Seth," I managed to get out with a laugh. "What the Hell?" Seth licked his lips and cuddled his face on mine. I inhaled his scent. Inhaled him. I felt my insides click with bliss and I gulped. Seth put his head on my lap and closed his eyes. He was still tired from when I found him sleeping in the cave. And with that, I looked up at the sky, then down at Seth. His massive head was so big, it reached atleast half a foot above mine. I kissed the side of his face, inhaling his scent one last time, and leaned against his furry body, closing my eyes and falling into a blissfully peaceful sleep.

I felt Seth move on my lap. I opened my eyes, seeing the sky turn light blue. The sun was about to come up. I looked down at Seth. His body was shrinking back to his normal self. Seth woke up and hunched over, holding his stomach, letting out a groan of pain. He looked up at me, I pulled him up and pulled him into my arms, feeling his soft fur turn into his normal, dark, wavy hair. I pulled out his white shirt that I had tucked into my dress and set it aside while I held him. I lifted his face up to look at him. His wold, bright yellow eyes peered at me as the turned back to their normal, beautiful hazel color. I smiled at him and kissed his forehead. Seth wrapped his arms around me and brought me closer.

"I'm so glad that I didn't hurt you," Seth whispered into my ear.

"You weren't going to, Seth. You were strong enough not to."

I felt his lips above my ear and I tangled my fingers into his hair. I could smell that musky scent on him again. I inhaled him. All of him. Never wanting to let go or be away from him. "Thank you," Seth added. We were like that for a while, holding each other,after a while, we kissed. Seth started to take off my clothes. I let him. It's as if I know him from somewhere. . . and I do. I just don't know from where. Before I knew it, I was completely naked, and so was Seth. His hands traveled through my body, gently skimming my skin as if I'd break if he touched me the wrong way. He started to kiss my neck, making his way down to my breasts and that's when I felt it. _Him._

We made passionate love urgently, as if it were our last. He planted kisses all over my body as we made love urgently, as if this was our last moment together. I embraced him as he penetrated me, not wanting to let go. Ever. I felt connected to him, as if I know him from a long time ago. And I do. I just don't remember from _where. _I kissed him hard, his tongue darting into my mouth, exploring it. Our tongues met and they danced in our mouths, sort of like having a war.

After a while, Seth gave a sputter and he shut his eyes tight, collapsing on my chest. I clutched at the back of his neck. He had climaxed. I felt his lips on my neck. He started to pull out of me, but I wrapped my legs around his waist. "More," I whispered. "I want you, Seth. All of you. I - -" I gulped. "I love you."

He went on, harder this time. And I enjoyed it. I hit my third climax before he was done again in a matter of minutes. I grabbed Seth and he was lying on my body. We were kissing. No more sex. Just pure, passionate kisses. I slowly lowered my legs and grabbed his face with one hand, then grabbed at the chain around my neck in the other. "I still have it," I softly said to him. "Your mother's wedding band."

Seth planted a kiss on my lips. "Keep it."

"What? No, Seth. This is your mother's."

"My father gave that ring to my mother because he loved her. And I'm giving it you."

"Because - -"

"I love you, Alex."

I buried my face in the crook of his neck as I smiled uncontrollably and flipped him over so he'd be on his back. I curled up next to him, my head leaning on his chest. Slowly, we fell asleep, exhausted from the sex and lack of sleep.

**Five hours later **

I woke up, no longer on Seth. He was fully dressed, fixing his shirt. I rubbed my eyes open and combed my long, black hair with my fingers. Seth grabbed my face and kissed it all over. I laughed and pushed him away, putting on my dress. When we were done, a horse-drawn carriage drove up and my stomach clenched. I stepped closer to Seth, he curled his fingers around mine.

I let out a breath.

It was Poppa. He got out of the carriage and hugged me. "Oh, God," Poppa said, kissing my head. "I thought something bad happened to you."

"I'm okay, Poppa. I'm fine."

Poppa looked at Seth and I looked from Poppa to Seth. "You already know who he is. ." I whispered. ". . don't you?"

Poppa nodded. "I can smell him."

"Sir," Seth started. "If you thought I'd cause any harm to Alexandra - -"

"Don't speak, boy. I was in your position when I was your age. Fell inlove when I was young and I was bitten, turned into a Wolf. I understand you care about my Alexandra. And don't worry. I won't tell anybody about what you are as long as you don't say anything about me."

"I won't, sir."

"Don't call me sir. Call me Peter. Are we clear?"

"Yes, s- - I mean Peter."

Poppa nodded. "Good. Now, get in the carriage." He turned to me. "Your parents are worried out of their minds, Alexandra."

"I know they are. I wanted to get away." I looked at Seth as he got in the carriage. "With Seth." I felt my lips curling into a shy smile.

"All I have to say about that is _be _careful. Your parents would be furious if they find out you might be pregnant."

"But. . I'm not." My voice sounded unsure. Because I was. I didn't actually think of that. Shit.

"I'm taking you home, then I'm taking you to the forest. Valerie's going to test you."

I nodded. Got in the carriage. Rode off with Poppa and Seth. Curled up next to Seth as he kissed my head, telling me stories about his mother. I listened hard, taking in every detail, every word. I smelled him, too. That deep musk. I loved it now. I couldn't get enough. Poppa's musk was ordinary, but Seth's was indescribably yummy. I inhaled him. I felt him in my bloodstream. I felt him everywhere. And I loved that feeling. Couldn't live without it.

**Home **

My parents talked to me about the Wolf. Told me that I was staying in my room at night, that Dad and Damon would keep an eye out for me. I tried to abject, but nothing worked. I nodded and looked down at my hands.

"Alexandra, honey," Dad said and sat beside me. Mother got n her knees infront of me and grabbed my hands in hers.

"We need to tell you something," Mother added.

"What is it?" I asked.

Dad looked from Mother to me. "Alexandra, you've been betrothed."

My stomach dropped. My head spun. I felt like throwing up.

Without a word, I got to my feet and ran. I heard Ariel and Elizabeth calling my name. I didn't care. I ran. Out of Daggerhorn. Into the forest. I found Grandmother's and knocked hard on the door. "Grandmother!" I cried, knocking fast. "Grandmother, I need to tell you something!" The door flew open and Poppa pulled me into the house.

"What's wrong?" Poppa asked me.

"My parents," I said, gasping for air. "Were talking - -" inhale. " - - betrothal - -" inhale. "I've been betrothed."

Grandmother came out from her room, her eyes were wide. "THEY WHAT!?" she exclaimed.

"I know," I said with tears in my eyes.

"That's impossible," Poppa said, his dark eyes were glassy.

We talked about it, Poppa took me into his bedroom that he shared with Grandmother and she came in there with us. "Do the test," Poppa told Grandmother. "Valerie, this is the serious." Grandmother injected something into my arm and half an hour later, had me urinate in a little cup. She took a drop of it and put it on some weird green paper. I felt disgusted. Grandmother and Poppa watched the green paper.

"What's this test about?" I asked.

Poppa and Grandmother turned to me, there eyes wide. "Alexandra," Grandmother said. "You can't get married to whoever your parents are forcing you to be with."

"Yes, Grandmother, I know that," I stated. "What's wrong?"

"Alex," Poppa said. "Honey, you're pregnant."

* * *

**This is a really suckish chapter. **

**But review! Tell me how it went! I rushed this one!**

**Sorry I hadn't updated in a while! School and a bunch of homework. **

**NEXT CHAPTER SHALL BE FULL OF SURPRISES *EVIL LAUGHTER***

* * *

**~*~*~Review and tell me what you think will happen next!~*~*~**


	7. Author's Note :

**AUTHOR'S NOTE!**

**I'm inlove with fan art! If anybody knows somebody who draws - - like in DeviantArt - - PLEASE PLEASE let me know! I would love to see how they come out with my characters!**

**Characters I would like them to draw for me:**

**Seth & Alexandra**

**That's it :33 **

**Thank you to all of my readers!**

**I love all of you!**


	8. Chapter 8

**I am soooooo sorry that I haven't updated in a long time! I was grounded [for educational reasons] and then when I COULD get on, I forgot my password, given that I was gone for so long! I'm putting a bunch more things than I intended for this chapter just for you guys!**

**2 weeks later**

I was sitting at home, my parents were trying to convince me to listen to them about who I'm marrying. I won't pay attention to them. I don't know who I'm marrying. I don't care. If it's not Seth, I could give a shit. I haven't told Seth that I'm engaged, nor did I tell him about me being pregnant. I haven't even told my parents. Hell no, anybody but them. I was planning to do that today. To tell Seth.

I put on my red riding hood and headed out the door, tugging the cloak close to my stomach, covering it. There was no bump or anything. Not yet, that is. But I didn't want to hurt him . . . her. . . whatever it was going to be.

Just then, a cart rode by and I covered my stomach, the corner of the cart brushed against my hands and I shuddered when I thought of it hurting my baby. I hurried to Seth's cottage and knocked urgently on the door. His father came out. He was dressed in a wrinkled night shirt and over sized pants.

"Is Seth home?" I asked.

Seth's father looked at chest - - where his wife's wedding band was dangling on. "Where'd you . . ."

"Seth gave it to me," I said quickly.

He was still staring at the wedding band. "He's sleeping, so if you want to wait -"

"This is an emergency. _Really _urgent. Please." I pleaded with my eyes.

With a nod, he let me in and I looked up, I could see the extra floor about eight feet above the ground where small bedroom could be made. I climbed the ladder and sat next to Seth's bed, he was facing me, sleeping on his side. I smiled at him and softly placed a kiss on his temple. Seth groaned and pushed my face away.

"Five more minutes, Dad," Seth groaned with his eyes closed. "Just - - grab my stuff and - -" quiet snore, "- - hunt some rabbits or something - -" even quieter snore.

I giggled, covering my mouth with my hand and his eyes fluttered open, landing on my stomach. "Seth," I whispered, my voice as soft as honey. "It's me. Alexandra."

He sat up and rubbed his eyes open. "I wasn't expecting you so early," he said in his sleepy voice. Sexiest. Thing. Ever.

"Sorry that I came so early, Seth," I apologized. "I just - "

"I'm not saying it's a bad thing. I'm glad you came."

I smiled at him and he grabbed my face, then kissed my forehead. "I would kiss you, but I haven't brushed my teeth yet."

"Don't care," I started and cupped his face. "And don't care." I pressed my lips on his and took in the heat that radiated off of him. God, I loved that.

Seth pulled away from me and looked me in the eyes. "Why'd you get up so early to see me?"

I let out a worried breath. "It's an emergency."

"About what?" he asked.

"Remember two weeks ago. On the blood moon -"

"YOU TOLD HER?" Seth's father cried. "ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE!?"

"I would never tell Seth's secret," I called to him. "Not even if my life depended on it."

I heard Seth's father sigh and I turned back to Seth. "When you carried me away and we - -" I stopped, trying to jog his memory.

"How could I forget?" he asked, smiling lovingly. "What's wrong?"

I let out a breath through my nose. "Seth, I'm pregnant." I grabbed his hands in mine and he gave them a squeeze, processing on what I'd just said.

"I'm going to be a - - " he started, catching his words in his mouth. " - - a dad?"

I nodded. "Y-yes."

Seth examined my face. "You look disappointed."

"I don't want to have this baby knowing that you don't want it."

His jaw dropped and he pulled me in for a hug. "Of course I want that baby, Alex. I love you _and _our baby. Don't think like that."

I hugged him back and buried my face in this crook of his neck, smelling him again. "I love you, Seth. So much."

"We're going to raise this baby the way we want to, we're going to keep it, and it _will _be ours. No one else's."

I couldn't help but giggle a bit. "Are you sure?"

"_Yes, _Alex. I want that baby." His voice sounded sure and secure, but stern at the same time. He meant it. He wanted this baby.

"Good," I said and kissed him. I wanted to tell him about how I was engaged and that I didn't even know his name. But I couldn't. Not after the news I just gave him.

"I knew I smelled something off about you," Seth said and tapped his nose. "This nose knows."

I laughed quietly and skimmed my hand on his cheek. "I'm so scared, Seth."

He grabbed my hand and kissed my fingers. "Don't be. It's ours. Yours. Mine. _Ours. _I want it. I just didn't know how to react at first, Alex."

"So," Seth's father said, clearing his throat, climbing the ladder and sitting on Seth's bed. "I'mma be a granddad?"

I nodded. "You're going to be a granddad."

He smiled uncontrollably. "Welcome to the family, - -"

"Alexandra," I said, filling in the blank for him.

"Call her Alex," Seth said and looked at me. "Fits her better."

"Well then," Seth's father said and clicked his tongue. "Welcome the family, Alex! I hope your parents are as happy as I am."

I faked a smile. "Y-yeah," I stuttered.

Seth's father served me breakfast and talked to me about his wife - - Seth's mother. He was telling me things I already knew about her that Seth's told me. Like how Seth's mother was a red head with blue eyes, had no freckles, and had a perfect smile. I could see Seth's father's eyes glistening as he talked about his dead wife.

Poor man.

I headed home after breakfast, kissing Seth goodbye until the afternoon, when we hunt, and looked at Damon as he rattled awake and looked for something to eat. Dad went outside with Damon, Mother stayed inside, cleaning the kitchen.

"M-mother," I stuttered, gripping my stomach.

"Yes, sweet heart?"

"I need to tell you something."

"What is it?" she asked.

"Can you - - turn to me? Please."

She put down the wet dishes, dried her hands on her apron and looked at me. "What is it?"

"Mother," I started. "I'm pregnant."

Her facial expression went blank. "How far along are you?" she asked expressionless.

"About two weeks. Seth's the father. We were - - _are _together."

Mother looked confused. Explaining time.

"Do you remember him? You used to babysit him, used to be great friends with his mother."

She nodded, a little light bulb turning on above her head. "Ah, yes. Seth, the boy with wavy hair."

"Yes, mother. Him. I didn't know that I knew him when I saw him three weeks ago before the first blood moon."

"He's the father of your child?" she asked.

I nodded. "And you can't do anything about it. So call off the engagement. I'm marrying Seth."

She chuckled. "Honey. If you would've let me explain, you would've known who you were marrying."

"W-who am I marrying?" I asked.

"_Seth. _He asked for your hand in marriage."

I blinked, feeling utterly stupid. "You must be kidding, right?"

She shook her head.

"You had me believe that I was going to marry somebody I didn't know and you just - -"

"_You _wouldn't let me _explain, _Alexandra."

"I feel stupid," I uttered. Then, my mood changed from nervous to giddy. I screamed in joy. "I'M MARRYING SETH!"

Somebody knocked on the door. I ran towards it and swung it open. It was Seth. He was holding up the chain with his mother's golden wedding band on it. "You forgot - " before he could finish, I threw myself on him, making him drop the chain and ring and he held me tight in his arms, laughing. "I'm guessing your parents told you?"

"I hate you," I said sarcastically. "That's not cool, seeing me all upset and not telling me anything!" I pushed him away playfully.

"I wanted to know that you knew."

"And I did, but I thought it was some guy I didn't know."

"There would involve weapons and broken bones if somebody else married you." He swung me around in his arms and kissed me.

I pulled away and gasped. "I should tell Ariel." Another gasp. "And Elizabeth! Oh, God, I'm just -"

"Shh," he shushed, putting his index finger on my lips. "I just want to hold you right now." And that's what he did, wrapping his arms around me tightly and securely. "We'll have to get married before your belly shows or after our baby's born."

"Before," I whispered into his ear. "Deffinately before."

Mother tapped my shoulder. "Not to interrupt this adorable scene here, but since you're two weeks pregnant, you'll have to get married in three weeks or a month."

"That's a little early," I said, pulling away from Seth. "Don't you think?" I turned to him.

"The sooner I get to have you with me, the better."

Mother clicked her tongue and awed. "He's so sweet," she awed and kissed my cheek. Mother looked at Seth. "Be good to her."

Seth gave a nod and retrieved the chain with his mother's wedding band from the floor, took the wedding band out of the chain, and slipped it on the ring finger of my left hand. "My wife," Seth started, looking at me with those big, hazel eyes of his. I felt like there were a million fluttering moths circling the inside of my belly.

"I love you," I said quietly to him. I meant it with my whole being.

Seth gave a smile, and talked to me through a kiss. _I love you, _he said to me via thoughts. His Wolf voice. I sucked in a breath and gave a peck on his lips. They were so lush and soft, I couldn't have just one kiss. Peck after peck, my kisses kept coming.

And then I saw Ariel. She was buying something from Rubin, a bald middle-aged man at the Market. Ariel's hair was french braided to the side, her long braid scaling past her chest. She turned around and saw Seth give me one last kiss before he said something, and Ariel's jaw dropped at us. Her eyes wandered to my left hand, and her eyebrows raised. And just like that, Ariel took off running towards Elizabeth's cottage.

"I'll talk to you later," Seth said to me.

I nodded. "Alright."

He planted a soft, yet passionate kiss on my lips that lingered when he pulled away. I could tell that it took all his will to pull away like how he did. I wanted him to stay, but I saw him walk towards his cottage where his father was standing outside, peeling potatoes.

When Seth was inside his cottage, I entered my own and grabbed my bow and arrow. Mother gave me a disappointed look, but I shrugged it off and headed out of my cottage, and into the woods. My haven, my solitude.

I'd found a beautiful resting area for when I figured out where I wanted to hunt. It was near Grandmother's, but the large-thorned trees weren't invading that part of the forest. I sat down on the moss-covered ground were a fallen tree was now a log beside me. The air was crisp and clean, a few birds sang here and there, and I heard frogs croaking their melody. Dandelions grew from the ground a few feet behind me and some were around the moss from where I was sitting. If only Seth was here with me, then it'd be perfect. I looked down at my stomach, carefully giving it a soft rub with my hands. I started to hum a song that Elizabeth and Ariel taught me.

_Got a secret, can you keep it? Swear this one you'll save. Better lock it in your pocket, taking this one to the grave. _I stopped right there. I am _not _taking my baby to the grave. _If I show you, then I know you won't tell what I said - - "_Cause two can keep a secret, while one of them is dead." I thought of Victoria, she knew about Seth's secret. About him being a Wolf. And so did I, and so did Poppa. _Cause two can keep a secret - - _"While Victoria is dead." I hated the sound of that. But it's what happened. She tried to kill me, knowing that I was Seth's weakness, yet at the same time, his strength. She tried to get rid of me so Seth would be weak enough for Victoria to kill him.

I sighed and looked up, the sky was blue, beautiful, without a cloud in the sky. The Blood Moon is gone. It'll come back the next thirteen years, when my baby is thirteen. Today would also be the first full moon that _isn't _shining red in a few weeks. Seth and I are going to meet at his cave which is a good four miles away from Daggerhorn. There, he'll turn into the Wolf, and I'll still love him. I will never look at him any differently. It doesn't matter if he turns into an alien, or a vampire, Seth will always be Seth, the man I fell in love with. The father of our child.

"Alex?"

I turned around. It was Elizabeth, she had a shy smile and her cheeks were flushed. "Hey, Liz," I said to her. She sat down on the log beside me and looked at my bow and arrows.

"I need to talk to you," she said. I could see something different in her eyes. They were bigger than I thought they were, and her voice was completely blank, as if she was a robot.

"Alright, spill."

She reached for something in her corset, and pulled out a folded piece of stationery paper. She handed it over and I unfolded it. Elizabeth said that strangest thing, she said, "My work here is done." And walked away. There's something off about her. I couldn't put my finger on it, but that definitely was _not _the old Elizabeth I knew.

When I unfolded the paper, I took a good look at the neat, cursive words and began to read.

_Alexandra,_

_We've been watching for quite some time now. The Wolf Whisperer, that's what you are. There hasn't been a Wolf Whisperer in over five hundred years. Your ability to speak with Wolves is both a gift and a curse. A gift, because if you're hopelessly in love with a Wolf, such as Seth, I suppose, you may speak with him in his Wolf for whenever he's the trance. The curse part is for me to know and for you to find out. We'll come for you, Wolf Whisperer._

_Don't look too terrified - - _

Oh, believe me, I was all too terrified.

_- - you've always been watched, since the day you could talk, to today. To right now. You're being watched, Wolf Whisperer. There's alot of names people will give you if they know you're a Wolf Whisperer. Such as: Witch, Satan's right-hand man, demon, even a Wolf that has the free will to turn into a Wolf whenever he or she pleases. Shapeshifter. But mostly a witch. They'll hang you, slaughter your family, kill the people you love. The Wolf Whisperer is a prized possession of the Wolf clan Larentia, who I assume you have no clue who it is. Do your research. I know Seth has. _

I look over the letter and feel my pulse racing. Is this some sort of joke? It has to be. Who else knows about my secret other than Poppa, Grandmother, my parents, and Seth? Nobody. My grandparents wouldn't tell anybody, neither would my parents, and Seth's lips are sealed. This is all too weird. I get up, taking my bow and sheath of arrows with me, and then I hear something from behind a tree. I strap the sheaths of arrows on my back, pulling out an arrow and readying myself. I call out, "Who's there?"

The person who comes out has his arms by his side, walking towards me. I drop bow and arrow on the ground and throw myself around him. My Seth. I felt overjoyed to see him. I felt his lips on the top of my head and his body heat felt amazing on my skin.

"How'd you find me?" I asked, pulling away, retrieving my bow and sliding the arrow into it's sheath.

Seth tapped his nose with his index finger. "I'm a Wolf, aren't I?"

I put a finger to my lips, making a 'shh' sound. "Somebody knows what you are and what I am."

"What're you talking about?"

I give Seth the folded stationery paper and he reads it, his eyes widening. When he finishes, he looks at me. "You can't stay here."

"Did you tell anybody?" I ask.

Seth looks at me with serious eyes. "Of course not, Alex. I would never put you in danger like that."

"I didn't tell anybody, either."

"I've heard of that clan before, the Larentias. It has to do with a Roman goddess named - -" his forehead crinkled as his brain rattled for information. "Come to my place, I have more information about the Larentias there."

I nodded and we made our way back to Daggerhorn, passed my cottage, passed the Marketplace, passed everything else in the front of Daggerhorn, and into Seth's comfy cottage. His father nodded at me with a kind smile. I can get used to this.

Seth climbed the ladder that led to his bed, and I followed. He opened up a chest behind his bed and rummaged through old leather-back books. "Ah," Seth cooed. "Here." He pulled out a black leather-back book, and undid the leather strings that tied the front of the book. He flipped through it and I saw the old, cursive handwriting. It was a journal.

"One of my great grandfathers was a Wolf, he was bitten by a Larentia Wolf on a Blood Moon night and that automatically made him part of the clan. It says here that the Roman goddess Acca Larentia was a foster-mother to twins and - -" Seth closed the book, obviously hating to read. " - -and a shepherd found the twins being miraculously nursed by a she-wolf. That she-wolf was Acca Larentia, the goddess of Wolves. The Blood Moon is a sign of her power and us Wolves are a sign of her strength."

"Okay, so what do I have to do with all of this?" I asked.

"The Wolf Whisperer is a descendant of Acca Larentia. Since you're the Wolf Whisperer, you hold the power to the Larentia clan."

"I'm friggin _eighteen_, not a Wolf, not a goddess."

Seth looked at me. _Really _looked at me. And then smiled sympathetically. "You're wrong about the goddess part."

I sighed through my nose and gave him a peck on the lips. He pleaded for more kisses and I gave him what he wanted. Before I knew it, we were making out on his bed and it took all of my will to push him off. "Not here," I said, out of breath. Man, when Seth kisses you, it's like he's sucking the breath out of you. "Some other place, some other time."

Seth gave a nod and covered me with kisses. "Sorry."

We pulled away from each other and I grabbed his great grandfather's journal. I started to read it carefully. Seth went outside to get something and he was gone for a while, which had me worried. The bell in Daggerhorn rang loudly. Once. Twice. Thrice. Somebody was killed. There was a long pause. The bell run again, three times. I ran out of Seth's home and followed everybody as they rushed to the gates of Daggerhorn. They gasped and looked at me, I pushed myself to the front of the crowd and saw the victim of the kill. I covered my mouth and felt tears stinging my eyes. There she was, Elizabeth, lying on her back, with a knife in her stomach. Her eyes were glassy and her gaze was out-of-this-world gone. She looked straight ahead. I kneeled beside her, grasping her hand, screaming at her to wake up. A note fell out of her hand. I unfolded it and read the blood-stained letters. _I told you my job was done._

_**p.s. Review your custom character[s] names! [They'll be part of the Larentia clan]** _


End file.
